NEW LOOK: Princeton University women’s basketball head coach Courtney Banghart, right, enjoys a light moment with sophomore guard Jordan Muhammad last week at the program’s annual media day. Banghart faces a major challenge this winter as the program lost five stellar seniors and 92 percent of its scoring from a 2015-16 squad that went 23-6 and earned the Ivy League’s first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA basketball tourney. Princeton opens its 2016-17 season by hosting Rider on November 11. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Having taken the Princeton University women’s basketball team from the  bottom of the Ivy League to five league crowns and six trips to the NCAA tournament in nine seasons at the helm, Courtney Banghart knows something about rebuilding.

Losing five stellar seniors (Michelle Miller, Alex Wheatley, Annie Tarakchian, Amanda Berntsen, and Taylor Williams) and 92 percent of its scoring from last winter when the Tigers went 23-6 and earned the Ivy League’s first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA basketball tourney, Banghart faces a major test this winter.

True to form, Banghart is relishing the challenge ahead of her. “This is a totally different team,” said a smiling Banghart last week at the program’s annual media day.

“It’s the same program and same leader in charge of it so there’s a lot of similarities. I’ve probably had more fun coaching this team than I remember even having fun playing.”

With Princeton opening the 2016-17 campaign by hosting Rider on November 11, Banghart is excited to unveil her new squad’s look.

“They’re totally dialed in,” said Banghart, who has a 192-73 overall record in her tenure at Princeton and is the winningest coach in the program’s history. “They’re really focused on winning the day. We’re going to play the game very differently because we’re a different team now. So everything is new so there’s really no freshmen and there’s no seniors. We’re all in it as a group and at the same spot. It’s so rare in college athletics. It’s a unique experience that we’re enjoying very much.”

In Banghart’s view, the Tigers should be enjoyable to watch. “We play fast on both ends,” said Banghart, noting that returners junior Tia Weledji (2.2 points a game in 2015-16), sophomore Qalea Ismail (2.5 points), sophomore Sydney Jordan (1.5 points), sophomore Jordan Muhammad (2.6 points), and junior Leslie Robinson (1.5 points), will be seeing time along with promising freshmen Bella Alarie, Sara Lewis, and Jordan Stallworth.

“We don’t shoot it quite as well so we have to play faster and have to use it to our advantage. We’re much more athletic now than we have been. We’re just different so we have to use more bodies.”

Senior co-captain and point guard Taylor Brown believes that the up-tempo style will be a good fit for a younger Tiger squad.

“Pushing the ball is going to be a big thing that we’re going to emphasize this year,” said Brown, sporting a black eye resulting from some hard play in practice.

“We have a lot of good scorers. We defend well. Those are things we’re going to try to play to and get better at.”

Princeton got a head start on getting better when it went on a trip to Australia this summer where it played three games.

“The trip to Australia was really amazing; I think it helped us a lot both on and off the court,” said the 5’8 Brown, who averaged 3.3 points a game last season in 24 appearances off the bench.

“The week we had leading up to Australia was kind of a really unique opportunity to have a bit of a training camp type experience. For this team especially, that was super helpful just because we are very young. And then getting to go to Australia, aside from the bonding experience, we got to play games there which was huge. So we were able to come into this season and this preseason with a little bit of a notch under our belt which I think gave us a little confidence and definitely showed us what we need to work on and what we’re good at.”

The Tigers will need their lone returning starter, senior co-captain Vanessa Smith, to assume greater responsibility.

“The only thing that’s differentiating me from the other people is a little experience on the court,” said Smith, a 6’1 guard who averaged 8.2 points and 4.3 rebounds last season in 28 starts.

“But we practice every day together; we’ve been grinding these past few years together. Even positionally we have a good range of players that have gotten playing time that know what they’re doing. In that term, I have a little bit of a leadership role in terms of experience on the court, but other than that everyone is ready to go and ready for the year.”

In Smith’s view, the team’s youth could prove to be an advantage. “We’re young, but young teams have so many good attributes,” said Smith.

“We’re eager. We’re ready to go. We’re fast and we’re athletic. Playing our team and playing to our strengths will really benefit us through the season.”

Brown, for her part, believes the Tigers are rounding into form. “I think preseason so far has been going well,” asserted Brown.

“The emphasis this year has been on winning the day, which I think has been huge. To reach any goal you have to focus on the steps and not so much on the destination but the journey. Every day this team has really come to play and win the day and I think if we continue to dial into that, good things are going to be in store for us.

Banghart likes the way her players have responded so far. “I’m really blessed; I coach a bunch of kids that trust me and let me push them,” said Banghart, whose team was picked second in the Ivy League’s preseason media poll behind defending champion Penn.

“They believe I’ll get them where I need to get them. I told them, all I need is for you guys to come with the mentality that you’re going to win the day. Some days we’ll be more focused on one end or one part of the ball or one part of our scheme. Some days will be harder than others. It’s all part of the design. Just win the day and it’s my job to make sure we’re progressing at the right pace.”

The young Tigers will be tested by a hard non-conference slate that includes such formidable foes as Dayton, Delaware, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Kansas State, and Georgia Tech.

“It’s always a good thing to play the best; in a non-conference, you’re comparing yourself to who you choose,” said Banghart, whose team will have more of a margin for error when it starts Ivy play as the league will hold its first-ever postseason tournament with the top four teams in the eight-team conference qualifying for the competition.

“For me, I want to be compared with the teams you see on our schedule, which is arguably a top 25 schedule for a team that graduated 92 percent of its offense. That’s who we’re going to compare ourselves to, that’s who we’re going to practice for. It’s who we’re to watch film for, it’s who I’m going to learn from so it’s how we do it. Our win-loss record might not be what we’re used to, but our goal is to continue to get this train moving forward and get better. There’s no better way to do it than play them.”

While Princeton may take its share of lumps, Banghart is confident her team will keep battling through the ups and downs.

“I can rely on them to stay engaged with what we ask them to do,” said Banghart.

“I can rely on their heart. These guys are total fighters. We have a black eye, we could have two kids out with season-ending injuries, these are just in practice. These guys are battling. There’s a sense they’re my fighters for sure. They also play the game with a little more joy than we’ve had. We’re not so business-like. We’re youthful, and that probably fits my personality a little more.”