Ahead of the 2025-2026 women’s basketball season, the Matadors are focusing on building their “foundation, culture and chemistry,” head coach Angie Ned said.
This year, the team will be led not only by the coaches but also by senior players.
“Every good team has one or two leaders that can help galvanize the group and be an extension of the coaching staff,” Ned said.
This season, Ned predicts that guards Erika Aspajo and Morgan Edwards will fill those roles. Both are returning seniors and are coming off an impressive season last year.
Aspajo led the Matadors in points, steals and assists per game. She also garnered double figures in nine different games with a career best of 22 points.
Edwards reached team leader in field goals with 83. She started in all 27 games she played and scored double figures in more than half of these.
Ned anticipates these two players will take on bigger roles on both sides of the ball, calling their development over the summer “significant.”
Last season, the Matadors faced tough competition and ended with a 4-25 overall record.
There was a fairly even distribution of stat leaders in points per game, field goals made and three-pointers made, each led by a different player. While this is akin to Ned’s goal and would demonstrate that the team can look to multiple players to score this season, the Matadors still need to increase their offensive efforts in order to outscore the competition.
Ned acknowledges the value of having five players who can score and highlights the added depth her team provides.
“It’s important to play with five impactful players and because of that, we need to all be well suited in their roles,” Ned said.
She looks to this to overcome past weaknesses and plans for her team to be stronger with ball movement and shooting this season.
“Fans will see that we have more depth and players that can impact the game in multiple ways,” Ned said. “We will continue to play fast, organized play with highly efficient shots and gritty defensive efforts.”
The team will have their home opener on Tuesday, Nov. 4, at 6 p.m. at the Premier America Credit Union Arena against Bethesda, a new team the Matadors will face.
They will then welcome San Diego on Saturday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. Last season, the Matadors took a loss when visiting San Diego. This year, they will have home-court advantage, looking to get the ball rolling before hitting the road.
