It's the third season for Algoma women's basketball head coach Katie Hamilton. After coming into a roster with a bunch of third year players in 2023, the last season for Algoma featured six rookies as they gradually shifted towards a new look. Now with only three seniors on the roster, a lot will be placed on the veterans to set the expectations for the large group who will be taking the reigns.
Brooke Gruhn averaged the second most minutes on the team last year at 35.5 behind Kaila Fong. She returns to the Thunderbirds as part of what will be an interesting guard group to split minutes within. The Thunderbirds preseason action hints towards a pairing of Brooke and Mercedes Mazzuca with Riya Donnelly being the next option up and a potential third guard in a smaller starting five.
A name to watch, and someone who has been featured early and often for Algoma in preseason is their newest transfer from Lakehead University, Neela Chanderdat. Neela has played a lot in the preseason and was Algoma's leading scorer across their games they've played. It feels like Algoma has big plans for her in their system and the impact of her immediately will be a massive boost for the Thunderbirds.
Outside of Brooke, Riya, Mercedes and Sadie Grawbarger, the Thunderbirds will be looking for younger players to take a step forward. Looking back at last season, a returning Bernadette Maranan who playsd 25 games last season, or Annabelle Lefebvre who played who played in 16, are two who could be the ones to take that leap into a larger role in the Thunderbirds front court.
Algoma needs the veterans to set the example for the younger players, and they need the younger players to step into bigger roles. A roster that's went through arguably the biggest change in the tenure of Katie Hamilton over the offseason takes the court on October 24 against Laurier at home.