Winona State opens its 2015-16 campaign with a trio of games at the CCA Division II Disney Tip-Off Classic October 30-November 1 in Anaheim and Carson, California. The Warriors open play Friday at 11 a.m. (CDT) against Cal-State Dominguez Hills, before taking on Academy of Art at 8:15 p.m. on Saturday and rounding out their California road trip with a Sunday morning tilt with New York Institute of Technology at 11 a.m.


LAST SEASON: The Warriors finished the 2014-15 campaign with a record of 20-8 and boasted a 15-7 mark in NSIC play. WSU was led by a quartet of scorers that averaged double-digits in Alexis Foley, Connor Nagle (11.0), Tara Roelofs (11.0) and Kayla Timmerman (10.7). WSU advanced to the quarterfinals of the NSIC Tournament, falling to MSU Moorhead 93-84 at The Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D.

PRESEASON FAVORITE: For the first time in program history, the Warriors were selected as the preseason favorite to win the NSIC both outright and in the South Division. Selected as the top five teams in the league were Winona State, Wayne State, Sioux Falls, Minnesota Crookston and St. Cloud State.

PLAYER TO WATCH: Senior point guard Alexis Foley was chosen by the NSIC as WSU's Player to Watch. The White Bear Lake, Minn. native led the Warriors last season in points per game (11.1) and assists (3.0). The Illinois State transfer knocked down 40.9 percent of  her shots from the floor and hit 28-of-82 (34.1 percent) 3-point attempts while being named an All-NSIC performer.

LUCKY SEVEN: The Warriors will be a very experienced squad in 2015-16, returning its top seven scorers from a year ago. In addition to Foley, Nagle, Roelofs and Timmerman, starter and sophomore Hannah McGlone and strong bench threats Jenny Weiland and Kali Hackmann also return.

NEW OPPONENTS: When the Warriors take the court this weekend at the CCA Division II Tipoff, it will do so against three teams it has never before seen. Cal-State Dominguez Hills, Academy of Art and New York Institute of Technoloy will all be matching up against the Warriors for the first time.

NEW FACES: WSU welcomes four new freshmen to the team that look to make immediate impacts in 2015-16. Three guards join the squad in Liz Evenocheck, Madison Worke and Kayla Schaefer, as does forward Riley Rosemeyer.