The No. 5/6 University of Scranton women's basketball team is set to open the 2023-24 campaign on Wednesday night at Rowan with start time slated for 7 p.m.

Head coach Ben O'Brien's team is coming off a 28-1 season and an NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance a season ago. The Lady Royals also went unbeaten in Landmark Conference play for a second consecutive year.

Following a road trip to Marywood on Monday, the Lady Royals then return home for four consecutive home games against TCNJ (Nov. 18), Albright (Nov. 20), Stevens (Nov. 27) and Wilkes (Nov. 29).

Click here to view the Lady Royals' full 2023-24 schedule.

Scranton returns three of their top five scorers from a season ago and five players that logged more than 12 minutes a game.

Sophomore guard/forward Kaci Kranson (Scranton, Pa./Holy Cross) earned D3hoops.com Preseason All-American honors after putting together a storied freshman season that included being selected as a WBCA Honorable Mention All-American and both the D3hoops.com Region V Rookie of the Year and Landmark Conference Rookie of the Year.

In 2022-23, Kranson averaged 14.6 points per game and shot 44.1% from the field to go along with a 37.0% clip from beyond the arc. The Scranton native also collected 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.

Senior forward Maddy Ryan (Malvern, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) earned Landmark Defensive Player of the Year and All-Landmark Second Team honors last season after starting all 23 games she appeared in. Ryan averaged 12.0 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 50.0% from the floor. The Malvern, Pa., native ranked among the conference leaders in FG% (second), steals (tied for fifth), rebounding (seventh) and scoring (11^th).

Elsewhere for the Lady Royals, graduate student guard Hannah Angelini (Baldwin Place, N.Y./Somers) returns after starting all 29 games in 2022-23 and averaging 6.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Senior guard Maddie Hartnett (Chatham, N.J./Chatham) played in all 29 games and recorded 5.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per contest.

Angelini, Hartnett, Ryan, senior guard Allie Lynch (Villanova, Pa./Academy of Notre Dame de Namur) and graduate student forward Kyra Quigley (Drexel Hill, Pa./Sacred Heart Academy Bryn Mawr) will serve as team captains for the 2023-24 campaign.

Newcomers to the roster include graduate student center Victoria Toomey (Dunmore, Pa./Dunmore) who transferred to Scranton after playing four years at Division I Rider and sophomore guard Kaeli Romanowski (Lake Ariel, Pa./Western Wayne) who joins the Lady Royals after spending last season with Landmark Conference foe Elizabethtown.

There are also four freshmen on the 2023-24 roster: Elizabeth Bennett (Staten Island, N.Y./St. Joseph Hill Academy), Katie Gorski (Pine Brook, N.J./Montville Township), Meghan Lamanna (New Providence, N.J./New Providence) and Natalie Stoupakis (Totowa, N.J./Morris Catholic).

--ROYALS--