The Rockhurst women's basketball team will open the 2022-23 season in Kenosha, Wisconsin, taking on Walsh University on Friday at noon and Parkside Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Nexus Classic. The Hawks return 13 players, including Reagan Dodd, who started last year as a senior and is in a fifth year Covid season.

Junior guard Keegan Sullivan headlines the list of returners. The South Bend, Indiana native, averaged 12.9 points, second on the team behind her sister, Daly Sullivan, who graduated in May. Keegan was also the team leader in rebounding, with 7.6 rebounds per game. She poured a season-high 24 points against Missouri S&T last season at home on 8-of-13 from the floor and 5-of-7 from three.

In addition to Dodd and Sullivan, other key returners this season are sophomore center Rebeca Garcia, senior forward Molly Hummel, senior guard Allison McFarren and senior guard Lani Thompson. The foursome combined for 538 points last season and will be critical to Rockhurst's success.

Rockhurst picked up five newcomers, including Macie Conway and Ali Kamies. The two played together at Nixa High School, where they both garnered first-team All-State honors in Missouri Class 5A. Bailey Brown, Moriah Putt and Clare Diener make up the rest of the 2022 recruiting class.

"This team has a nice blend of experience and youth and appears to be an extremely competitive and focused group," Park said.

Park enters his 14th season as the head coach. The Hawks went 16-12 last season and have won 98 games over the past eight seasons.

The Hawks will play a 20-game conference schedule this year. The GLVC coaches voted Rockhurst fifth behind Lewis in the GLVC Preseason Poll.

This opening weekend will be a big one for Rockhurst. The Hawks will play Walsh for the first time and take on Parkside in a series that is even at 4-4. The last meeting was in 2018, when the Hawks won 80-75.

"Both Walsh and Parkside will present tough challenges as both teams had nice seasons last year. They play the game at a very high level and are competent and battle-tested," said Park.

Live stats and live videos will be available for both games. Check the Rockhurst website for the game links.