HAMILTON, Ont. - It's been 622 days away from OUA competition for the McMaster Marauders women's basketball team, as they make their return to Burridge Gym for the 2021-22 season. A lot has changed for this squad over the past year and a half – a new roster, and a set of experiences that have shaped the team as individuals and as a team.

But the one constant that remains is their identity and team culture. Despite a lack of competition over the past 20 months, the women's basketball team stayed true to training individually, and as a team virtually. They adapted and created a women's basketball fitness Instagram account (@macwbb_fitness) to motivate one another and stay engaged in daily challenges – 138 days consecutively to be exact – making their return to court more seamless than expected.

Going back to the 2019-20 season, the squad finished the season 14-8 and third in the OUA Central division, closing the season out winning seven of their last eight games. They matched up against the Guelph Gryphons in the first-round of the playoffs coming away with an intense overtime victory 93-88, but their luck ran short in the quarterfinal stage, falling to the Western Mustangs on the road by a single point, 64-63, bringing their playoff run to a close.

The Marauders graduate three players from their roster that season: Christina Buttenham, Julia Hanaka, and Olivia Wilson. Wilson graduated following the one-year hiatus due to the pandemic, while Buttenham returns to the squad, only this time on the sidelines as the Manager, Basketball Operations.

Returning for McMaster are a bunch of key veterans, most notably two-time OUA all-star and former all-rookie team member, Sarah Gates. Ranking second in the OUA in scoring in 2020, the Newmarket, Ont. native averaged a career-high 17.9 points per game. Also returning are a trio of Marauders in Mia Spadafora, Arianne Soriano, Clare Sharkey who are the remaining Marauders on the roster from their pivotal championship run in 2019, along with Gates, where the team captured an OUA & U SPORTS championship.

Joining the Marauders, a year later, with a phenomenal rookie season in 2020, Jenna Button returns for her second-year of eligibility but third year academically. The Kinesiology major averaged 7.6 points per game and 3.3 assists on the season, including a career-high 19 points against the Brock Badgers on an October night.

"With a very small groups of veterans, we don't feel as though the vets can shoulder the entire weight of the season on their own," said head coach Theresa Burns. "They have to be able to lead and demonstrate the standards and work ethic that our team is accustomed to. With that, the young players need to acclimatize to the university game as quickly as possible."

Of the new and incoming young players are first-years Delaney Bourget and Jennah Taylor, as well as Hope College (Mich.) transfer, Alissa Smith. Bourget has been with program for the past year, with her true rookie season coming this fall, while Taylor comes to McMaster for the first time this season. Meanwhile Smith, a 6'3" center, recorded 9.8 points per game and 7.4 rebounds per game for the Flying Dutch. All three come with a great sense of the game and will be pivotal for the Marauders success on the court this season.

"With a very large, young cohort, it will be a thoughtful build over the first term with the hope of competing in the second term," said Burns. "They have to be able to lead and demonstrate the standards and work ethic that our team is accustomed to. With that, the young players need to acclimatize to the University game as quickly as possible."

Visit marauder.ca/tickets to purchaee your McMaster Basketball tickets today.