Seattle University Women’s Basketball starts their season Nov. 2 with their new head coach, Skyler Young, at the helm. The roster is composed primarily of Redhawk veterans, along with one new addition, Graduate Student guard Aannah Interrante. Before the academic year and training camp, the team took two months off this summer to spend some time with their family. Young decided that they needed that break to refresh their minds from the past season, where they only accrued five total conference wins. 

“I thought it was a great mental reset for [the team]. The season they had previously, not reaching the goals they wanted to reach, then having a change with leadership… it can be a lot for a young athlete,” Young said. “So giving them that break, I thought it was really good for them mentally.”

The time off during summer did not affect their training plan however, as they prepare for their first home game against Evergreen State Nov. 2 at 6 p.m..

Aannah Interrante is a transfer student from Bradley University, bringing championship experience to the team of veterans—she was a part of the 2020-21 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament Championship team. With her experience, Interrante hopes she can be a leader at Seattle U.

“I try to take things from that and help people, whether that’s just pushing people, running or talking or just being there as support. I feel like it has been kind of a role that I’m trying to get better in, leading by example,” Interrante said.

Senior guard Peyton Howard has been with the team since her first year. She reflected on her past years of basketball and how she is feeling about this season with the new staff change.

“I feel like it’s changed a lot from last year… I just feel like we haven’t had that family dynamic here at all. We went through some really hard times, like COVID, and it was really tough to want to play basketball. I was just playing basketball,” Howard said. “Now this is like a family.”

Howard admired how passionately Young prioritizes basketball and how he cares about the players as a whole.

“This is his family and he just loves it, I’ve never had a coach that loves it that much,” Howard said. “He comes in every day, with the same energy to literally eat, breathe, basketball—everything he does is basketball. It’s cool to have somebody who is so intelligent, but also, so passionate and does care so much, it’s not just basketball.”

Young has learned a lot from his various coaching jobs throughout his career—most recently at the University of Portland.

“Two things I learned at Portland is you can have talent and win, but it depends on your [team] culture, and then you don’t have to have a lot of talent and win, but it still depends on how they come together,” Young said.

Young is optimistic for this season and believes his team has all the skills needed to succeed. He does not feel any pressure coming in after their past season.

“We have a plan and that plan never talks about wins and losses. Just stay to the process, and then it’s gonna take care of itself,” Young said. “The team may have to face adversity this season and they’ll have to figure out how to come together and get through that.”

After taking the summer to reset, and with a new addition both on the roster and the coaching staff, the team is ready for the season. Young and seniors like Howard seem prepared for whatever challenges lie ahead. They are feeling closer as a team, and as Howard conveyed, more passionate about basketball than ever. They have put in lots of hard work as Young’s expectations of excellence are clear.