There is little reason for University of Minnesota Duluth women's basketball fans to look backward as head coach Mandy Pearson takes the reins of the Bulldogs for the first time during the 2015-16 campaign.

Despite the All-Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference efforts of then-junior forward Taylor Meyer and Jessica Newman ('15), UMD posted a sub-.500 record at 12-15 overall and 10-12 in conference play and exited the NSIC/Sanford Health Tournament in the first round as a fifth-seed in the North Division. Meyer, who led the Bulldogs in scoring at 17.5 points per game and rebounds at 8.7/game, hit double digits scoring in all but two conference games, surpassing 20 points in eight games. Meyer was originally voted the division's Preseason Player of the Year, but will sit out the 2015-16 season, as she did the final outings for UMD a season ago, due to offseason surgery. Without each of their top three scorers from a season ago, the Bulldogs will have a much different look in 2015-16.

WHO'S BACK?
Senior guard Taylor Dillinger returns after playing in 27 games including 22 starts for the Bulldogs last season. Her role has expanded in each season with UMD and averaged a career-high 4.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game a season ago. Coach Pearson's squad will lean heavily on her as the most experienced player on the court this year and the team's only active senior.

Junior center Allyson Harris, point guard Jenna Orr, and forward Kenzie Kane should all see their roles expand in the new year. Harris made eight starts a season ago, averaging 6.1 points per game, more than double what she had in her freshman campaign in about 20 minutes on the court per contest. Orr mostly spelled point guards Danielle Flood ('15) and Alyssa Kerkhoff ('15) a season ago, averaging just 4.9 minutes per game, but should see the court in a more expanded role in 2015-16. Kane saw her role expand and game improve throughout her second season at UMD. She led UMD in scoring in the team's final victory of the season, dropping 13 points against the University of Mary and improved upon that with a career-high 14 in the regular season finale against Minot State University.

Sophomore forward Anna Monke was named the Bulldogs' "Player to Watch" in the NSIC Preseason Poll release earlier this month. Starting 22 games while playing in all 27 for UMD in her freshman season, she averaged 20.0 minutes per outing, dropping 4.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Forwards Ayo Porte and Amanda Hunt also saw some time on the court a season ago, with Porte averaging about 10 mintues in 25 appearances.

WHO'S NEW?
Outside of the obvious new faces on the bench in Coach Pearson and lead assistant Jenna Freudenberg, UMD welcomes a five-member freshman class which includes NCAA I University of North Dakota transfer Josie Buckley. Redshirting for the nicknameless team a season ago, the Rice Lake, Wisconsin-native will be eligible to play for the Bulldogs right away. In 2014 during her high school senior season, Buckley was voted the 15th-best senior in the state of Wisconsin. UMD adds one more forward in 5-foot-11-inch Eden Prairie native Emma Boehm. She started four seasons for the Eagles and received All-Lake Conference honors her junior and senior seasons.

The Bulldogs round out the guard position with three new players: Tori Finger of Manassa, Colorado; Samantha Kozlowski of New Berlin, Wisconsin; and Kiera Nelson of Maple Plain, Minnesota. The 5-foot-8-inch Fringer earned All-State honors as a junior and senior and led Centauri High School to a fourth-place finish at the state tournament in her junior season.  Kozlowski earned an All-State Honorable Mention as a sophomore in leading New Berlin Eisenhower High School to a Wisconsin state tournament runner-up finish and then improved to a Second Teamer and First Teamer in subsequent seasons. Nelson, the final Minnesota native in the freshman class, started four seasons for Orono High School. She entered her senior season as a two-time All-Wright County Conference selection.

THE SCHEDULE
UMD opens its season somewhat unofficially Saturday as the team will take on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay's Green Bay Phoenix of NCAA Division I in exhibition play. After this weekend's match-up, the Bulldogs will return home to open the Pearson era at Romano Gymnasium with the annual exhibition against her former NCAA Division III Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivals in Bethel University on Nov. 7.

From there, the Bulldogs will set out on the road for the rest of their non-conference schedule: at Michigan Technological University on Nov. 14 and at the Soo Locks Lodge Classic Nov. 21-22 to take on Northern Michigan University and the hosts from Lake Superior State University. The lone repeat from a season ago is Tech, who edged UMD 59-58 in Duluth last November and finished the year ranked No. 15 in the nation according to the postseason WBCA/USA Today Sports NCAA II Top 25 Coaches Poll.

The NSIC continues its Friday/Saturday doubleheaders throughout the season, with exceptions on the weekends of Jan. 2-3 and 9-10 when teams will meet on Saturday and Sunday to accomodate the New Year's holiday. Wayne State (Neb.) College stood the test of the season as the lone NSIC squad ranked at the end of the year, coming in No. 18 in the final poll but ranked second according to league coaches in the Preseason Poll to Winona State University. UMD takes on the top dog in the conference poll Saturday, Feb. 6 in Winona, Minnesota. St. Cloud State University was chosen to lead the North Division, and the Bulldogs will knock out both meetings with their divisional rival in the season's first half, hosting the Huskies in the conference opener on Saturday, Nov. 28 and and then traveling to St. Cloud on Saturday, Dec. 19. The 22-game league schedule leads up to the16-team NSIC/Sanford Health postseason tournament which takes place Feb. 24-Mar. 1, 2015.

HOW TO WATCH
... vs. Green Bay Live Stats

TIP-OFF
The season tips off this Saturday, Oct. 31 for UMD, but the Bulldogs won't be spooked on Halloween when they test their skill against the Phoenix in Green Bay at 4:00 p.m. Voted for a 12th-place finish in the league and sixth-place finish in the division, UMD will look to outperform expectations and surprise the NSIC as the Pearson era officially begins this weekend.