Basketball season is upon us, and the Oakland University’s Women’s Basketball team is ready for some action.

Ending last season with an 18-12 record, the Grizzlies are pumped to get back out on that court and show their competitors another side.

Junior point guard Taylor Jones explained that this season’s goal, above all else, is for her team to win a championship. She said they have upped their defensive game and are looking forward to showing the other team’s out on the court what they are capable of.

Oakland started workouts in September, but their official practices did not start until October. They practice around 20 hours a week, and because of all the hard work they have put in, they have seen a tremendous change from last year.

“This season we definitely have more depth than we have had any other year,” Jones said. “We haven’t gone that deep in our bench in previous seasons, but this year, we can go very deep.”

Jones, reigning Horizon League sixth player of the year, has personal goals for the season, which are to work on being a better defensive player, as well as a better rebounder. She wants to improve her points per game and receive another horizon league award.

Senior point guard Taylor Gleason is approaching her last season on the court and expects a very promising season for her team.

“I expect that we are gonna be very deep this year compared to how we’ve been in the past and I think that is gonna play to our advantage,” Gleason said. “We have younger players that are going to be a big help right away, and we’re a lot bigger this year so that’s also going to be helpful.”

The team has a healthy balance between veterans and newcomers, and Gleason believes that is a beneficial aspect to winning games.

“We have really good team chemistry this year, and it’s exciting to see,” Gleason said.

Last Saturday, Oakland’s Women’s team scrimmaged Western Michigan University. They were neck-for-neck the entire game, until the last few seconds when Oakland made a buzzer-beater basket to win the game. This pumped them up for their upcoming games and gave them an itch to win.

Oakland has put in the work, and now it is time to come out and support fellow Grizzlies, as they play their home-opener game Nov. 11 at 1 p.m.