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The 2024-25 season for the ������������ women’s basketball program marks its first under new head coach Mary Grimes. After steering nearby Le Moyne College to a 56-30 record the past three seasons — and racking up a pair of conference Coach of the Year awards in the process — she accepted the Bearcats’ head position in April and is excited about the future of the program.

“This is an exciting time for me,” Grimes said at her introductory press conference this past spring. “It is an exciting time for my family and it’s an exciting time for ������������ and for the women’s basketball program. We are going to try and be champions — on and off the court. Change can be a little difficult but it can also be rewarding.”

Six months after assuming the head coaching position, Grimes has been impressed with her new team. They were together during a six-week summer session and have been preparing for the upcoming season since late August.

“Our team has a lot of hard workers,” she said. “Day in and day out they come in and embrace everything that I am presenting to them. They are taking it all in and they are quick learners which is something I really like about them.”

Meet the team

Nine letterwinners — including a pair of all-conference selections and three returning starters — are joined by five newcomers to form this year’s ������������ squad.

This year’s team captains include redshirt junior guard Jadyn Weltz, junior forward Camryn Fauria and junior guard Kaia Goode.

A year after being named to the America East All-Rookie Team, Weltz moved up to second-team all-conference status last season. In addition, she has been named to this year’s Preseason All-Conference Team.

Weltz was second on the team and No. 11 in the conference with 10.7 points per game. She also finished second in the America East with 4.5 assists per game and tied for fourth with 1.6 steals per contest. Her signature game was a 25-point, four-rebounds, four-assist, one-block performance against Maine in the America East semifinals on March 11.

Fauria completed her first season as a starting post player in 2023-24. She reached double figures in scoring four times, led the team in rebounding 10 times and recorded a double-double. In the Bearcats’ victory over Bryant in the America East quarterfinals, Fauria finished with 13 points and six rebounds.

Goode, meanwhile, arrives from Le Moyne, where she played under Coach Grimes the previous two years. She was a two-year starter for the Dolphins — racking up 521 career points in the process — and was named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week on Dec. 17, 2023.

Joining Goode as a transfer from Le Moyne is sophomore guard Leah Middleton. As a freshman with the Dolphins, she appeared in all 32 games as a reserve player. Middleton had several solid performances, including eight points and five rebounds off the bench against Sacred Heart in the 2024 NEC title game.

In addition to Weltz and Fauria, senior forward Genevieve Coleman is the Bearcats’ other returning starter. She was named third team all-conference after ranking third on the team and No. 12 in the America East with 10.3 points per game. Coleman was also fifth in the conference with a .477 field goal percentage.

Weltz and Fauria are two of the Bearcats’ three players who are seniors academically. Forward Kaelonn Wilson — who is a redshirt junior — appeared in 15 games last season.

Junior guard Meghan Casey started in six games last season and ranked No. 11 in the America East with 2.4 assists per game. Against Army on Dec. 20, she dished out a career-best 10 assists.

This year’s returning sophomore class will play a pivotal role in the fortunes of the Bearcats. That quartet includes forward Kendall Bennett, as well as guards Yanniah Boyd, Kaylee Krysztof and Bella Pucci.

Bennett was the Bearcats top shot blocker last season, tying for ninth in the America East with 0.8 rejections per game. Boyd appeared in 27 games and is one of the team’s most improved players this season. Pucci reached double figures in scoring three times while Krysztof shot .547 from three-point range.

Three freshmen join this season’s team. They include center Abby Misier (Hightstown, N.J.), forward Marisa Smith (Johnson City, N.Y.) and guard Samantha Baker (Nazareth, Pa.). Misier finished her career at Hightstown High School with 1,555 points, 1,200 rebounds and 293 blocks. At nearby Johnson City High School, Smith was a three-time All-New York State (NYS) selection while Baker was a McDonald’s All-American nominee at Nazareth High School.

The schedule

������������ tips off its season with a Nov. 4 home game against Pitt-Johnstown. From there, the 13-game non-conference slate includes seven home dates – and featuring two contests against Power Five conference opponents.

������������ hosts ACC members Pittsburgh on Nov. 17 and Syracuse on Dec. 18. The Orange — who the Bearcats last hosted in 2011 — finished the 203-24 season 24-8 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers, meanwhile, hosted the Bearcats last Dec. 3 in the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

Three days after the Bearcats’ season-opener, Mid-American Conference (MAC) member Akron visits the Events Center. It marks the first time in three meetings between the squads that the Zips travel to ������������.

Other non-conference home games come against Loyola, Md. (Nov. 30), Molloy (Dec. 20) and SUNY Geneseo (Dec. 30).

On the road, ������������ visits Buffalo on Dec. 4. The Bulls advanced to the first round of the WNIT in 2024. On Dec. 15, meanwhile, the Bearcats travel to face a Siena squad that went 18-12 a year ago.

Other non-conference road games are against St. Bonaventure (Nov. 9), Cornell (Nov. 14), LIU (Nov. 22) and Canisius (Nov. 25).

The Bearcats begin conference play with back-to-back road games against NJIT (Jan. 2) and UMBC (Jan. 4). ������������ then has three straight home contests - against defending champion Maine (Jan. 9), New Hampshire (Jan. 11) and a Vermont squad that advanced to the WNIT semifinals last year (Jan. 16). ������������ closes out the first half of the America East schedule at UAlbany (Jan. 18), at home against Bryant (Jan. 25) and a return trip to Vermont (Jan. 30).

The second half of the schedule features home matchups against UAlbany (Feb. 1), UMBC (Feb. 13), NJIT (Feb. 15) and Senior Day against UMass Lowell (March 1). ������������’s final four America East road contests are at UMass Lowell (Feb. 6), Bryant (Feb. 8), New Hampshire (Feb. 20) and Maine (Feb. 22).