The women’s basketball team is looking to improve after a disappointing 15-15 season, along with going 7-11 in conference play. The Huskies had to deal with numerous injuries to several key players last season.

One of those players was redshirt sophomore Janae Poisson who tore the ACL in her right knee Nov. 20 last year against Chicago State University.

Poisson averaged 8.4 points per game her first year, and before she got hurt in her sophomore years she averaged 10.8 points per game. Poisson’s return date is still in question, but she will be back this season. Her return will provide a major boost for the Huskies.

Head Coach Lisa Carlsen talked about the difficulties of coming back from an injury.

“I think the hardest thing about it is as a player you become impatient, but its takes months to come back from injury like that,” Carlsen said.

Poisson echoed her coach’s optimism on the injury and is looking to return to the court as soon as possible.

“From an ACL aspect I’m fine,” Poisson said. “I definitely got confidence back that my knee is healthy, and I will be ready to go by November 8.”

The Huskies still had strong contributions from seniors Mikayla Voigt and Courtney Woods despite injury setbacks.

Woods was named to the pre-season list for the Sheryll Miller Award for the best small forward in the country. She averaged over 22 points per game last season, which led to her being named on the First Team All-MAC team. She is also is on pace to score 2,000 points and 300 assists over her four-year career as a Huskie.

Though Woods is known for her scoring, Carlson is expecting contributions from others.

“I think what this roster provides is better balance,” Carlson said. “[Woods] is capable of scoring twenty plus a night, but I don’t envision she’s going to have do that with the other capable players around her.”

Voigt led the MAC in minutes played per game with 36.43 minutes per game. She is also coming off a season where she scored her 1,000 career point against Kent State University Feb. 3.

“The one thing I’m missing over my career is a MAC championship and that’s the focus of the team,” Voigt said.

The Huskies host the University of St. Francis in a exhibition game 1 p.m. Saturday at the Convocation Center. Their official season starts in the Preseason Women’s NIT against Yale 6 p.m. Nov. 8 at the Convocation Center.