In October 2016, the Loyola women’s basketball program was in a state of disarray. Ten letterwinners left the program and recently-hired head coach Kate Achter had to start fresh with her 10-player roster — the average Division I roster size is 15, according to the NCAA. The team went 2-20 and the rebuild was in full effect.
One year later, Loyola lost four players — juniors Kianna Mayers, Miya Williams and sophomore Kaitlyn Williams left the program but are still enrolled at Loyola, and first-year Kiana Coomber transferred to community college. All five starters are returning from last season, meaning Achter retains the core of the team, and the roster sits at 12 players.