After losing six players due to graduation and transfer, Fresno State’s women’s basketball team is starting its 2022-23 with six new players on its roster.

The Bulldogs will be without their top two leading scorers from last season, Haley and Hanna Cavinder, after the twins transferred to the University of Miami.

Last season, the Cavinder twins accounted for 49.5% of the ‘Dogs’ total points. 

Fresno State is ranked ninth in the Mountain West preseason poll out of 11 teams. After being ranked first in last season’s preseason poll, the Bulldogs finished 11-18 (7-10) and got eighth place in the Mountain West. 

That was the team’s first losing season under head coach Jamie White in her eight years with Fresno State. In her eight seasons as coach, White has a 152-101 record. 

After getting out to a 5-4 start in conference play, the ‘Dogs lost seven of their last nine games, including their season-ending loss to Utah State in the first round of the Mountain West tournament. 

Even though the Bulldogs’ top three rebounders from last year, the Cavinder twins and Wytalla Motta will not be returning, White believes that rebounding and the inside game will be one of the team’s biggest strengths. 

“We’re going to look a little different because we have Imani Lacy and Amaya West and they allow us to go inside a little bit more,” White said. 

Lacy and West are both seniors, and will have an increased role in scoring and rebounding after the departure of Motta and the Cavinder twins. 

Another strength of the team last season was their ability to protect the basketball and limit mistakes. The ‘Dogs averaged the second fewest amount of turnovers in the conference last season with only 11.7 per game.

Defense has been the biggest focus for the team leading up to the season. Last year, Fresno State ranked ninth in the conference in points allowed per game at 69.1.

Nine of the team’s 15 players are either freshmen or sophomores. 

“We are a little bit young… But we are committed to being competitive this year,” White said at the team’s ice cream social on Oct. 18. 

Four of the team’s five incoming freshmen came to Fresno State from overseas. Elif Dila Bayrak is from Turkey, Alannah Chatfield from Australia, Maria Doreste from Spain and Franka Wittenberg from Germany. 

The chemistry between team leaders such as Lacy and the younger players developed over the summer. 

“You would think it would be a little bit harder [to build chemistry] because we have all different walks of life… That’s what made it easier, because we all get to learn from each other,” Lacy told Fresno State Athletics.

White has also been impressed by the way the veterans on the team have been getting to know the younger players. 

“Our older players have shown them the ropes and have helped them understand terminology,” White said. 

After a final exhibition tune up against San Francisco State on Nov. 4, the Bulldogs will officially begin the 2022-23 campaign against Fresno Pacific on Nov. 7 at the Save Mart Center.