RENO, Nev. – Entering her third season at the helm of the Wolf Pack women's basketball program, head coach Amanda Levens has the depth needed to turn Nevada into a contender in the Mountain West.
 
Levens and her coaching staff added eight newcomers in the offseason, including five transfers and three freshmen. Of those five transfers, two have joined the Pack from four-year institutions while the other three are junior college products. All but one of the transfers will have two years of eligibility with the Wolf Pack.
 
There are also new faces within the coaching staff as well as Levens added two new assistant coaches and a graduate assistant in the offseason. One of the new assistants, isn't exactly new to the program. Ashley Elliott, who served as the operations coordinator last year, was elevated to assistant coach. Jazmin Pitts also joins the staff as an assistant coach, but spent the 2017-18 season with the Wolf Pack as a graduate assistant. Harlyn Wyatt filled the vacant graduate assistant spot for this season after Brittany Aikens was promoted to director of player development.
 
Aside from all of the new faces this season, Levens returns six letterwinners from a year ago. Included in those returners are a group of sophomores that combined for 38.5 percent of the team's minutes and 37.3 percent of the team's scoring offense. While the team lost its top three scorers in Jade Redmon, Terae Briggs and Camariah King, the pieces are in place to fill those roles.
 
The 2019-20 schedule sets up nicely for Nevada as the team will play six home games and compete in a tournament hosted by Pac-12 member USC during the non-conference season, all in preparation for the Mountain West schedule which begins Dec. 7. The Pack will host an exhibition contest on Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. against William Jessup, and officially open the season Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 3 p.m. when it hosts Saint Mary's at Lawlor Events Center.
 
FORWARDS
The Wolf Pack has just four post players listed on its roster, but four deeply talented post players. Sophomore Imani Lacy is the team's leading returning scorer after she averaged 6.7 points per game as a freshman and should only improve on those numbers. Fellow sophomore Emma Torbert also returns in the post and grabbed 4.8 rebounds per game last year, which leads all returners. Torbert isn't shy to shoot the 3-ball either, hitting 11 last season.
 
Marguerite Effa, a graduate transfer from USC, and freshman Dom Phillips will add a solid rotation to the post. At 6-3, Effa will add much needed size down low for the Wolf Pack and should be one of Nevada's go-to post players with three years of collegiate experience. Phillips was named the Gatorade Arizona Girls Basketball Player of the Year after scoring over 1,700 points in high school.
 
GUARDS
With many guards to turn to, Levens will have options coming off the bench this season. Sophomore Essence Booker should see a lot of time running the point this season after averaging nearly 20 minutes per game as a freshman. With 50 assists last year, Booker will be tasked with driving up those numbers and becoming the Pack's main floor leader. Also returning from that sophomore class are Da'Ja Hamilton and Amaya West, who had 26 starts last year between them.
 
Levens also added newcomers Jacqulynn Nakai, Nia Alexander, Miki'ala Maio, Jená Williams and Aly Jimenez to her army of guards. Nakai, Alexander and Maio all have at least two years of collegiate basketball experience, while Williams and Jimenez are entering their rookie seasons. All five of these additions bring unique skill sets and accolades to the program that will only help Levens with her options in-game.