The Bakersfield College women’s basketball team is hoping to rebound this year after having a tough season last year that saw them go 6-18.

“You know I’m excited about this year’s group. We only have three coming back from last year’s team, so we’ve got 10 new players. They’ve really bought into what we do and they’re learning how to play well together,” said head coach Paula Dahl. “We’re going to be really fun to watch. We’re going to play an extremely aggressive style of defense, and we went to a showcase at the end of September and I was really pleased with how they performed. They competed great with some of the top teams in the state, so I believe that this year we’re going to see a lot of success and we will be extremely competitive and we’ll be in every game. It’s going to be fun; this is a really special group of student athletes that are just giving 100 percent to the system we’re putting in.”

Dahl said that watching her returning players develop their game from last year to this year has been amazing for her to watch.

“They’ve shown tremendous growth. They’re huge leaders for our team. For me it’s been really fun to see their games evolve and they’ve evolved greatly since their freshman year. Just the fact that they’re able to help the other players to recognize and understand what’s about to be happening next week, so I’m excited for them and I expect them to have great years,” said Dahl.

Dahl is excited to see how her freshman are going to play this year.

“They’re a great group and our basketball IQ is much higher. Their work ethic is great, and I’m excited to see what we’re going to do,” said Dahl.

Although the team doesn’t have the ideal height, Dahl believes that her team makes up for the lack of height, in speed.

“We are very tenacious. In the showcase, there were some defensive rotations that I’ve never seen any of my teams rotate so well. We’re going to play an extremely aggressive, risk-taking style of defense and I believe they’ll do a phenomenal job with it. I believe we’ll get out and run and that we’ll be really exciting to watch and play,” said Dahl.

Dahl did feel like the lack of height on her team might cause problems with rebounding the ball.

“We’re not very tall. A buddy of mine averaged our height, and our average height is like 5-foot 4-inches and a half. We’re spending a lot of time on boxing out and rebounding and just really emphasizing the fact how important it is. Just really sold the idea that for us to be successful, we got to play phenomenal defense, we got to get out and run, and we got to box out and get the ball. As long as we box out, I think we’ll be OK, but if we don’t, people are going to be able to dominate on us,” said Dahl.

“I think at the end of the season, we want to be in playoffs and that’s what we’re working toward. The first day of practice, I showed a picture of cutting down the nets and we’re working toward that. Last year was a tough year. This team is showing a ton of resiliency and we’re sick of playing each other. We need to play somebody else. I think the possibilities are endless with this team and I’m excited about that,” said Dahl.