The Rockhurst Hawks host the Avila Eagles in their season opener Friday at 6 p.m. The Hawks defeated Avila, 75-60, last year at Rockhurst.

Rockhurst returns four starters from last year's team, which finished with an 11-15 record and won five games in conference play. Senior forward Lauren Meyers and junior guard Mary Dineen both earned Second Team All-Conference honors last year. Dineen led the team with a 14.3 scoring average. Meyers averaged 13.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Senior forward Kendall Hart came off the bench to average 9.8 points and 4.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Jillian Myers led the GLVC in steals while averaging 6.0 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

The Hawks split a pair of exhibition games on the road last week. Rockhurst defeated Missouri-Kansas City 58-52 on Nov. 6 at UMKC. Dineen led the Hawks with 13 points and five rebounds. Meyers posted 11 points and four assists. Oral Roberts edged the Hawks, 69-65, in overtime on Nov. 7 in Tulsa, Okla. Meyers paced the Hawks with 16 points and six rebounds. Dineen also finished with 16 points, in addition to posting a team-high four assists. Freshman Brittany Meyer came off the bench to score eight points. Myers added six points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.

Avila is coming off a 60-51 loss to Ottawa on Tuesday. Sophomore forward Luci Sarcone paced Avila with 17 points and seven rebounds. Freshman guard Kolby McIntosh leads the Eagles with an 11.8 scoring average. Junior guard Hannah Long is the team leader in rebounding (6.8). The Eagles are averaging 54.8 points per game.