Entering her fourth and final year in the program, senior guard Yanniah Boyd is looking to build on her experience and help lead the Bearcats to a championship this season.

“My goals for this upcoming season are to just go out every game and be aggressive,” Boyd said.

Boyd saw her best statistical performance in her sophomore season, a year where she started all 30 games and finished second in points and minutes and third in field goals made. During her junior year, she played 22.2 minutes per game and started in 15 of her 33 appearances. She made those minutes count, finishing third in rebounds per game and fourth in assists. Now, Boyd is focused on contributing to the squad in a leadership role, which she has grown comfortable with over the past season.

“It’s actually a combination of all three previous years here,” said Boyd. “Now I’m the senior, I think I see things differently. My attitude is different compared to past seasons on how to approach things. I know that we are projected number one, I think that also has to deal with attitude and all that stuff, and just knowing we have a target on our back, and being a leader on the team, being able to guide my team in the right direction.”

Last season, Boyd was benched and started in half the games that she did during her sophomore year. While many players may get flustered by a change like this, Boyd took pride in staying confident and delivering strong production for the team.

Boyd has experienced growth in all aspects of her game, with her physicality, mentality and playstyle making her a difficult opponent for any team.

“I’m 5-foot-11,” she said. “I can play one through four, so being able to differentiate between my matchups, like if there’s someone small on me, I can work down to the post, use some of my size. I can go one-on-one outside the perimeter,” said Boyd. “Getting downhill, that’s always been my strength and just being able to finish that way and just seeing the floor. Creating for others, that’s one thing that I think someone at my stature is good at, and again, just being poised, I think that’s one thing that differs between a lot of people and myself.”

As all three players enter their senior years, Boyd has developed pregame rituals with senior guard Bella Pucci and senior forward Kendall Bennett.

“[With] Bella Pucci, we do our pregame shooting routine that we’ve had since freshman year, [and] we get the shots up then,” she said. “Kendall Bennett and I have a routine that we developed sophomore year that we do. So, we do that, finish up, head back, and locker room. [We] cheer with the team, music, then we have our warm-up and everything, and on the second time we go back into the locker room, Bella and I take a shot of pre-workout.”

Overall, Boyd is in position to make a strong impact this season and is sure to leave a lasting impression on the women’s basketball program.