The theme in 2024-25 for Manitoba's women's basketball team will be versatility. For the first time in five years, someone not named Lauren Bartlett (the school's all-time leader in minutes played per game) will man the point guard position, opening up opportunities for others while allowing the Herd to capitalize on ideal matchups week-to-week. 
 
"We're really fortunate that we've developed this mentality that we don't need just one person to be ball dominant," said 11th-year head coach Michele Sung, who's helped lead Manitoba to the playoffs three times over the last four years. 
 
"What's our biggest mismatch with a given team matchup, and can we distribute the work load? It was a pretty heavy work load that Lauren shouldered. [Being versatile] is the mentality we've tried to instill since we started training camp in April."
 
With injuries to key veterans such as Mar Tomas Arbos and Treyah Paquette [37 combined steals last year, 26 starts between the two], second-year point guard Sydnee Harris has stepped up in the spot previously held by Bartlett. 
 
Her defensive intensity in the pre-season led to opportunities on the offensive end, including a combined four steals against Brandon and Winnipeg. 
 
"She can defend anyone. She manned up Carleton hard, and did a really good job on their primary guard. We have plenty to build off of there," said Sung. 
 
"She is getting better every week."
 
Harris is complemented by a bevvy of veterans and rookies who'll provide Manitoba with tons of different looks. 
 
Notably, fifth-years Emerson Martin and Autumn Agar have been in the program for seven and six years, respectively [Agar began her U SPORTS career at Calgary] and with that comes tons of experience in different situations. 
 
Factoring in the presence of 6'2" sophomore Anna Miko, the Herd have three impact play-makers above six feet who can shift into different roles. 
 
Miko – who saw action in all 20 games as a rookie and led the team with 17 blocks – can "play anywhere from one to five based on who she's playing with," while Martin had a career-high 30 triples last year and a personal-best 11.2 points per game. 
 
Meanwhile, Agar has 493 career points as a Bison and 335 rebounds, and can score in a variety of ways.
 
"[Martin] has a great ability to set her feet and hit shots. She's also 6'1" and that's helpful when you're shooting from that range. Not many people can full contest it. She ends up having bigger defenders on her who aren't as comfortable getting out to the three. I think it was a steady year for her. I think that defines her as an athlete. She's just worked at it piece by piece," Sung said. 
 
"For Autumn, I think it's really cool to see how much she's grown as a person, being in first year education last year and coaching provincial team this summer. She's developed more perspectives and it's cool to see how she's incorporated that for herself in terms of performance."
 
Fourth-year sharp-shooter Emily Mandamin also returns, fresh off a year where she led the Bisons with 35 triples, and a 42.2 percent efficiency from distance, also third in Canada West. 
 
Mandamin's one of many "creative playmakers" for Manitoba, and her evolution will be her ability to become more than just a shooter. 
 
"She can be a good defender, and she can manage scenarios, because she's really smart," noted Sung. 
 
"She knows the game really well. She's ended up shouldering a massive load of the leadership responsibilities, and she's done it really well."
 
Ayva Khan is another excellent shooter for Manitoba who put in a ton of time in the summer. Her role will increase in 2024-25, after a career-high 50 points and 24 rebounds in her sophomore season. 
 
The Herd's veteran core's been boosted by an exceptional recruiting class. That group includes 5'9" Darya Rom, 5'10" Paige Schatkowsky and 6'1" Sera Bartsch, who all played notable minutes in the pre-season. 
 
Rom – a back-to-back MHSAA provincial champion with Dakota – tied for the team lead in points against Brandon, with 15 in a 78-62 win. 
 
Meanwhile, Vincent Massey product Schatkowsky had a breakout showing against Winnipeg, putting up 18 points, and Bartsch, an Alberta native, saw considerable action in a variety of pre-season games, including three rebounds in ten minutes against Queen's. 
 
The theme for the trio, much like it is for the rest of the squad, is adaptability. 
 
"All three of them are physical, and they give us the flexibility to play multiple positions," said Sung. "We can start with a bigger lineup, or we can start with what we deem as guard heavy, and won't give up a ton of size."
 
Manitoba kicks off the regular season at 2 pm this Sunday against Brandon.