AMHERST — There’s no way to sugarcoat it, last year was a disappointment for head coach Mike Leflar in his first season leading the UMass women’s basketball team. The expectations weren’t necessarily through the roof after Tory Verdi left Amherst for Pittsburgh to coach in the ACC considering many of the Minutewomen’s contributors departed too, but a 5-27 season that included stretches of nine and 15-game losing streaks isn’t what Leflar had hoped for.

So now in his second season patrolling the sidelines under the green roof of the Mullins Center, Leflar is ready to right the ship in UMass’ final season in the Atlantic 10 – which starts with a road bout against Harvard on Monday night (8 p.m.).

It wasn’t all bad for the Minutewomen, though. They won two of their last three games, including a big first round win in the Atlantic 10 tournament against La Salle after losing to them twice in the regular season. They began peaking at the right time, and perhaps they’ll carry some of that momentum into the 2024-25 campaign.

But as is the case with every team across college basketball at the start of each season, UMass will look different. Minutewomen leading scorer Kristin Williams transferred to Coastal Carolina, and promising freshman forward Lilly Taulelei hit the portal before landing at Iowa State for her sophomore season. Those are two big hits for UMass, as are the departures of Alexsia Rose, Bre Bellamy and Tori Hyduke, all of which graduated.

Leflar ensured he brought some strong talent in and didn’t just lose it. Aleah Sorrentino started 59 games over the last two years for Lipscomb, where she averaged 12 points per game for two straight seasons. Now a senior, Sorrentino brings experience and a whole lot of offensive game as a 6-foot-2 forward.

Megan Olbrys appeared in a total of 43 games over two years at Villanova, and although she only averaged a couple of points and one rebound per game during her time, the Massachusetts native is looking forward to helping out at UMass in front of friends and family. Playing in the Big East proves as valuable experience for the 6-foot-1 forward from Norwood.

The third transfer coming in to join the Minutewomen is Momo LaClair, who helped Drexel into the NCAA Tournament with 18 minutes per game last season. LaClair averaged three points, three rebounds and two assists off the bench as a junior in 2023-24. The 5-foot-10 combo guard brings a do-it-all skill set to Amherst.

Add in first years Jess Ross (6-foot-3 forward), Yahmani McKayle (5-foot-6 point guard), Taylor Derkack (6-foot-0 guard) and Kasey Bretones (5-foot-11 guard), and the Minutewomen have completely replenished their roster despite losing a few key pieces from last year’s team.

Oh, and there still is Stefanie Kulesza, of course. Kulesza emerged as a truly complete player in an extended role last winter. She put up 11 points, seven rebounds and two assists per game and was terrific down the stretch for UMass. The senior is undoubtedly the leader of the Minutewomen this season.

Elsewhere, sophomore Chinenye Odenigbo got better and better as the season went on, and another year in Amherst is only going to help settle her in even more.

Junior Lily Ferguson provided hefty minutes in the front court last season, and Dallas Pierce (sophomore) Allie Palmieri (senior), Mikenzie Jones (junior) and Avery Childers (sophomore) are each back for another season at UMass.

After finishing second to last (13th) in the A-10 a year ago, the Minutewomen were picked to finish 11th in the preseason A-10 poll released in mid-October. How this team will gel is still a question, but Leflar seems to have his pieces in place as UMass opens its season in Cambridge on Monday.