For the past few seasons, the Southwestern women's basketball team used the low post like a crowbar, using the size of Tori Carraway '19 or Cecily Woolfolk '20 to pry open opposing defenses with leverage or bludgeon them with brute force. 

This year, the Pirates are reorienting their offense around a group of perimeter players who hope to dice defenses up with surgical precision. 

"We're going to be different this year. The makeup of our team is different," Head Coach Greta Grothe said. "We don't have that low-post presence where we can just pound it in. I feel like most of our scoring will come from our guards, and they're ready for that." 

The Pirates are led by their captains' trio: senior forwards Noel Pratts and Erin Toro, and junior guard Lauren Fulenwider. 

Pratts was second on the team in scoring last season at 12.0 points per game, trailing only Woolfolk. The athletic wing can play lockdown defense at multiple positions for stretches and create shots for herself and others of the bounce. 

"Noel is more confident with the ball. She worked on her finishing and is doing a much better job, even through contact," Grothe said. "We're going to play a little faster, and I think we're a better shooting team than we've been in the past." 

That combination of internal improvement and more spacing should help Pratts improve her efficiency, and a key to that is the play of Fulenwider. In her first college basketball season, the sophomore guard averaged 7.8 points per game on 33.5 percent shooting from long range while playing out of position at point guard. Back to being an off-ball scoring threat, those on-ball repetitions running the offense helped round out her game. 

"Lauren came back better than ever. She's not just a shooter anymore; she's a scorer," Grothe proclaimed. "If she brings the ball down and decides to pull up from three, by all means. But she's not timid with the ball anymore, and she can get to the rim. I have all the confidence in her." 

Toro is a playmaking forward in the frontcourt who can guard all five positions, hit the occasional 3-pointer, and use her combination of strength and quickness to face up against traditional bigs. Taylor Carney is a lengthy presence in the middle who can block shots and step outside, and hit from a distance. 

"Tayle has come in and is ready to take on a bigger role, I think," Grothe said. "She's going to have to guard the biggest player on the court. Erin can guard one through five, but Taylor is going to have to play post defense. She can hit it from outside, and she's worked on her back-to-the-basket game to the point where I think she can do both." 

Southwestern is also eager to see how Reece Sandercock and Emma Lewis do in expanded roles in their second seasons. 

"We're really excited about Reece, she can score, and she's gotten a lot better on defense. She's a difference-maker," Grothe said. "And Emma Lewis is back and can shoot it. She's gotten better off the bounce." 

That group will have to provide stability early for a roster with nine first-years and a sophomore transfer. That youth will have to learn quickly, with three first-years competing for the keys to the offense.

"Emily Edwards, R'Yani Vaughn, and Kaitlyn Atkinson are vying for the starting point guard spot," Grothe said. "So, we have our youngest players at our most important position." 

The Pirates also have a pair of talented scoring guards in Emily Jasek and Mia Paz, a Division I transfer from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley; a strong defensive player in Priscilla Cebrun, and an undersized-but-energetic post in Hallie Mayfield. 

"Our entire freshman class is all hard workers," Grothe said. "They're competitive and want to be on the floor at all times. It's going to be an adjustment for them playing at the collegiate level, but once that shock wears off, they're all basketball players." 

With so many unknown players and a new identity being built on the fly, the Pirates were selected to finish sixth in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) in the Preseason Coaches' Poll. But in a year full of unknowns due to the pandemic, Grothe believes anything is possible. 

"I think it's anyone's league this year. The more experienced teams will be successful early, and younger teams will make a run late," Grothe said. "With everyone getting a spot in the conference tournament, if we can defend the 3-point line, rebound, and control our turnovers, we'll be in a lot of games."