New coach, new philosophy.

A new head coach brings all sorts of changes to a program. It brings a new authority and a new style of coaching. But for the Binghamton University women’s basketball team, it brings a drastic change to their game plan.

“The switch from head coaches has been easy,” said first-year head coach Nicole Scholl. “I am very happy with it.”

The switch includes a change in how the Bearcats approach games defensively.

“Defensively, we are going to be putting out full-court defense,” Scholl said. “Create more opportunities for our offense and a better transition game.”

The change from Rich Conover’s freestyle defense might be a factor in the team’s transformation into a legitimate conference contender.

“It’s a whole new team,” said junior Erica Carter. “We have some amazing newcomers who bring intensity on defense.”

Fresh new bodies to the Bearcats defense should spur it to success. These include freshmen additions Andrea Holmes, Viive Rebane, Orla O’Reilly, Sinead O’Reilly and Kiara Conner.

“We have added some speed in the backcourt along with some depth,” Scholl said. “Andrea Holmes and Orla O’Reilly will help us with our depth in the backcourt.”

The team has seven underclassmen this season and many of them are likely to see significant playing time. This makes the team one of the youngest in the conference. They will need to adjust quickly to this up-tempo defensive strategy in order for the team to see success.

The team is looking to upgrade its ability to play for 40 minutes. Last year BU tended to have lackluster second halves. In their 64-57 loss to Albany in the America East Quarterfinals last season, the Bearcats blew a nine-point halftime lead as Albany started the decisive second half with a 23-4 run.

“We have had an intense preseason,” said junior Muffy Sadler. “We want to be able to run with teams for 40 minutes.”

“Staying in shape is key,” said senior Laura Franceski. “We have been conditioning a lot so we can beat teams in the second half.”

Fans can look for games where the Bearcats will be competitive and put effort forth for 100 percent of the game.

Part of the new philosophy is the group of returning players from last year: Erica Carter, Laura Franceski, Muffy Sadler and Jackie Ward.

Carter brings her lethal 3-point shooting from last year as well as two years of experience. She shot nearly 39 percent from long-range last year and averaged nearly 10 points a game. She is primed to be a leader for this team and its brand new players.

“I want to work hard as a leader,” Carter said. “I want to show them the ropes. I have a positive outlook on our future because we have a deep bench.”

Franceski is the senior leader who will bring the energy on defense. She was second in the conference for blocks with 1.9 a game last year. She will need to be dominant in the paint for the Bearcats to win games. Her quickness and agility will be essential for BU this season.

“The big hurdle we have is our small size,” Franceski said. “We have to use our quickness to compensate.”

Sadler will have a chance to revert to a more familiar role in the lineup as she moves to a shooting guard role. Her play may have been slightly stunted as she was forced to play point under previous head coach Rich Conover. She averaged four points and two rebounds per game.

Sophomore guard Jackie Ward will now assume a more active role in the offense. She seems poised for a turnaround season and will likely see big minutes at point along with freshman Andrea Holmes.

“Andrea and I are going to split minutes this season,” Ward said. “We are going to turn around our failures last season.”

Time will tell how effective Scholl will be on this young team and how effective her plans are on the court.

“We have a good nucleus of players coming back and solid freshmen we are excited about,” Scholl said.