HELENA, Mont. – When the Carroll women's basketball team takes the floor at the PE Center Friday against the University of Alberta, the Saints will be without two of their top three scorers from a season ago. Top scorer Bailey Snelling and third-leading scorer Kalee Junkermier are both lost to graduation but a slew of fresh faces are ready to step in and take their places.
 
"I don't think you can replace the players we lost but what you do is reload," head coach Rachelle Sayers said.  "We won't be asking our two and three to score as much, we have a good inside game and I feel really confident with our point guards. Those twos and threes will have a different role in the offense this year."
 
The Strength of the 2015-16 Carroll team is obvious, sophomore Cassidy Hashley is the Saints leading returner. She was dominant at times and tallied a double-double in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament. For her efforts she earned Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year honors and a bevy of double teams.
 
Joining Hashley on the inside is junior Baylee Watson who had a breakout season a year ago. The two inside players have impressed Sayers with the improvement that they showed over the summer both on the court and in the weight room.
 
"Bailey Watson has added a lot of muscle and Cassidy Hashley has gotten into great shape and put on some strength." Sayers said. "She was already strong as a freshman but now she is even stronger and she has added more dimensions to her game. You will see her step out and hit a three and I am ok with that. I think you will see Bailey Watson playing at a new level this year and understand her role more and using her strengths to make the team better, physically she has tools to dominate."
 
The Saints also have two experienced point guards to pace the offense in senior Katie Estey and Sophomore Bailey Pasta. Estey struggled with illness and injuries a season ago but is in good health and has stepped into the leadership vacuum left by Snelling and Junkermier. She showed a glimpse of what she could do when she scored a team-high 11 points in the purple and gold scrimmage.
 
"Katie battled major health issues and injuries last year but she is healthy this year and put on strength," Sayers said. "She is a different player and I think you will see it in her leadership and confidence and she will help on the outside scoring. People will have to guard her and we saw her hit a three five feet away from the line in the scrimmage but that's nothing for her. Nobody puts in more time than her on working on her skills and I'm really excited for her and I think she will have a great year."
 
Senior Jordan Johnston will play more in the perimeter where her 5-10 height will create mismatches.

"Jordi is like the journeyman, she has been through 5 years here.  She has paid her dues and has been so loyal to me and this program," Sayers said. "She has worked so hard to be in the position she is in this year and has been a three-year captain so that pretty much says it all.  This team looks to her for her maturity and leadership and we will be counting on her to fill some voids on the perimeter left by Kalee and Bailey last year."

Senior Kacie McKeon will look to play significant time at the two guard but she will be pushed by sophomore Mika Robinson and a class of five redshirt freshmen.
 
"Sara Chalich and Brittney Johnson are playing extremely well at the two guard position and battling each other every day with Kacie McKeon," Sayers said. "Both are really good on ball defenders, I love their toughness and they are very physical for their position. They shoot the ball well you are going to see them playing a lot of minutes. Mikaela Olson has been battling some injuries so you might not see her right away but we will get her back. Kate McKree is probably our most physical player on the court, I don't know if anybody on our team can box her out. She is one of those players, that, when she goes in, the crowd is going to know she is in and they are going to like watching her play."
 
A pair of freshmen will look to contribute right away.  Center Hannah Dean and forward/guard Brooke Jones will add tremendous depth in the Saints frontcourt.
 
"This is a very talented freshman class and we had a good one last year too. I'm excited about the future with these kids," Sayers said. "Hannah Dean is a winner she has won at everything she has done. She was one of the best volleyball players in the state last year so her timing on rebounding and blocking shots is amazing. She has great footwork in the paint she gives us another big body in there. Brooke Jones is just a beast. She is as strong as any kid we have she is about 5-11 playing on the perimeter with great ball handling. She played a lot of point guard on her high school team with her and Jordan Johnson at the three guard, I think we will have a lot of steals."
 
The third incoming freshman, Oona Harrington, will take a redshirt season.
 
Overall the team is younger than a season ago but Sayers believes that this squad is her most talented in her time at Carroll and she hopes that it will translate into a fourth trip to the NAIA Tournament in five years.
 
"We are deeper and more talented than we have ever been, but it will depend on how quickly can they turn potential into actual production," Sayers said. "I feel like we have a team that can do great things this year and having four posts who can score, pass and shoot. We are young at the guards but they have the talent.
 
"It will take some luck to get back to the national tournament with injuries and we have to play hard every night. Our conference is tough, we were picked fourth.  I don't feel like we are the fourth-best team but we need to prove that. We have a long ways to go but we have to players who can do it. The future is pretty bright."
 
The Saints open the Season Friday against a talented University of Alberta team. The Pandas bring a 6-1 record into the game, the only loss coming in overtime.
 
"They are long and talented and play in the highest level of college basketball in Canada," Sayers said. "They may be a top two or three team in their whole country and they played a quite a few games already. It will be a very big test for our group."
 
The Saints and Pandas take the court at the PE Center at 7 p.m. Live streaming will be available via the Saints Youtube channel.