When the regular season begins against in-state rival Detroit Mercy Nov. 12, the Oakland University women’s basketball team will step onto the court with a very different look.

Coupled with the departure of four senior contributors, the infusion of many new faces via transfer and recruitment will help to distance this season’s Golden Grizzlies from last year’s postseason run that met a premature and disappointing end.

Despite finishing second in the conference during the last year’s regular season with a 14-4 record, the Grizzlies were unceremoniously bounced from the Summit League Tournament in the first round by an inferior Western Illinois team. Seven months later, that stunning defeat remains the most prominent memory of last season’s narrative.

But head coach Beckie Francis and her team are forward-thinkers.

“I think the biggest difference of this team from last year is that we’re young,” Francis said. “We have five new freshmen, two walk-ons and two redshirts who didn’t play last year. That’s seven to eight new people that weren’t in any conference games or in the heat of competition last year.”

Expectations set

In the Summit League preseason poll, released last week, the Golden Grizzlies ranked third behind heavy favorite Oral Roberts and last season’s conference champion South Dakota State.

“I think that our league is getting better because I think that we’re good and if they’re picking us third it means that this team is good, but (also that) the league is very competitive,” Francis said.

The biggest thing the Grizzlies have going for them this season is the return of junior center Brittany Carnago, who missed all of last season with a serious knee injury suffered in the exhibition season. The holder of the school’s single-season blocks record (89 in 2008-09), Carnago is expected to resume her role as the anchor of the defense and a frontcourt player that will dictate opposing coaches’ gameplans.

“Last year was definitely very rough, having to sit out the entire season,” Carnago said. “I am definitely very excited to start playing again. My knee is back to 100 percent.”

Francis said Carnago’s return to health has not gone unnoticed by other Summit League coaches.

“When I was recruiting in July, South Dakota State’s head coach was sitting next to me and the first thing he said wasn’t even, ‘Hello’, it was ‘How’s Carnago doing?’ So I do think that they know that she’s back,” Francis said.

Carnago’s return and presence is bound to reverberate throughout the Grizzlies’ lineup this season, as the need for other teams to double-team her will free up teammates to take more open shots from the perimeter.

“Brittany makes a huge contribution,” senior Anna Patritto said. “She’s 6-foot-4 and you can’t replace that. Back there we know she’s always got our help on defense. Offensively, if you post her up and get the ball to her, you can be pretty sure it’s going in.”

With sophomore Bethany Watterworth, a First Team Summit League preseason pick, also returning as the team’s leading scorer, the front court is the unquestioned strength of the team.

“(Watterworth) is such a threat,” Carnago said. “She can shoot 3-pointers, she can take 15-footers and she can post up, so I think there’s going to be great high-low action. She can get it inside to me and I can get it out to her, so I think that the two of us are going to really work together.”

Patritto and transfer Brittney Nelson will provide quality depth off the bench at the forward position.

With a better balance of size and athleticism from last year’s team, Oakland’s offensive attack should employ a greater variety of schemes in addition to Francis’ famous Motion Offense, which relies on quick ball movement to create open shots for a variety of players.

OU’s backcourt will be led by junior Sharise Calhoun, who will operate as a combination guard and the team’s primary scorer on the perimeter.

Sophomore Victoria Lipscomb is also expected to reprise her starting role from a year ago.

Unknown assets

Francis has a reputation for emptying her bench and using a variety of different players throughout the season. The question of how she will divvy up playing time is still to be determined, however.

“We’re still trying to figure out how it all works together. We’re deep and we’re talented,” Francis said, adding that she expects the team’s freshmen to all see playing time this season.

Oakland landed a pair of highly-touted recruits from East Lansing High School in Malika Glover and Zakiya Minifee. Another freshman newcomer, Jenna Bachrouche, also has a chance to contribute in a supporting role this season.

The Grizzlies’ non-conference schedule will once again present a rigorous tune-up for the Summit League season that will follow. High-profile home dates against Big Ten opponents Penn State and Illinois will help to prepare for the more important conference games that will ultimately make or break the team’s chances of improving on last year’s performance.

Other noteworthy games include a measuring stick game against preseason favorite Oral Roberts on New Year’s Eve and a rematch with Western Illinois Jan. 8 at the O’Rena.