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WELLSBURG -- The Brooke Bruins return four starters from last season's team, including leading scorer and rebounder Ava Bolen.
But what the Bruins must replace is their leader and floor general, as Madison Platt has already scored her first collegiate points for Waynesburg College and her teammates and former coach are still searching for the next point guard to wear the Green & Gold.
So while four of the five starting spots are already decided and held by experienced players, that fifth is still a major question mark heading into the season
"That's still to be determined, but we do have a couple of different options," Brooke head coach Amy Serevicz said. "That was our main focus of our first scrimmage, but after that and a handful of practices, we're still figuring that out."
Major question mark or no, there's plenty of coaching staffs in the valley who would love to answer that question whilst working with a lineup packed with starting experience.
Bolen (6-0) averaged a double-double as a junior with 13 points and 12 boards per game. She's joined in the interior by fellow senior Bailey Serevicz (5-10), a three-year starter and one who, if not for a knee injury her freshman season, would join Bolen as a four-year starter.
A third senior, guard Angelina Lippoli returns, along with junior Riley Schwertfeger (5-7), a varsity fixture since her freshman campaign.
While Brooke's inside game will be a focal point, it won't be its only option.
The team also boasts a few capable shooters and Coach Serevicz likes to mix things up and keep everyone involved.
"We want to take advantage of Ava and Bailey's height, but Angelina can shoot," Serevicz said. "Riley and Lily (Beecroft) and shoot from the outside, and Michela (Villa) and Elsa (Ortiz) have nice otuside shots too.
"We're not going to focus on just one person but focus on playing as a team."
The aforementioned Beecroft is a sophomore and played a good bit as a freshman. She will challenge for that fifth spot, as will Villa, one of two exchange students on the team along with Ortiz.
Senior Hannah Buterbaugh has battled injuries but returns healthy and ready to make a bigger contribution.
Another sophomore, Jania Jones, also got a bit of varsity PT as a freshman and should see her minutes improve.
The key according to coach is working on the team's defensive prowess and mental acumen.
"We need to keep improving our defense because we gave up too many points and made too many silly mistakes last season," Serevicz said. "Turnovers were our downfall in a lot of games. We need to take care of the ball properly."
Senior Kaylee Kauffman will also look for varsity minutes, along with juniors Emma Coen and Shaleigh Poszywak, sophomores Josie Pennybacker and Kennedie Valero, and a trio of freshmen in Lorelei Costlow, Marionna DiPaolo, and Melia McCullough.
Given the senior-heavy roster, some of the younger player will likely be honing their skills on the junior varsity level as the 2023-24 team will have quite a few major holes to fill.
"I'm looking forward to a pretty decent year, but we will be senior heavy, so will also be looking at the underclassmen who will be able to come up and fill those spots that we'll be losing after this year."