The Sacramento State women’s basketball team has changed significantly since last year’s nightmare season.

The Hornets have received an influx of new and talented players, including some international aid, and they are enthusiastically gearing up for the new season.

“Things can only get better,” Hornet coach Carolyn Jenkins said. After going 0-27 last season, and losing a school-record 37-consecutive games dating back two years, the team has gone through an extensive redevelopment.

The most drastic changes are in the team’s 2002-03 roster, where five new players have been added, some from as far away as Canada. The new team, according to Jenkins, will have everything from solid post play to a sharp-shooting outside presence.

Two of the newest players to the team, Sarah Craig and Megan Moon, hail from Canada.

“I’m a pretty good ball handler,” said Moon, who as a point guard led her high school team to a third-place finish at the Provincial Championships. She averaged 15.5 points and five assists per game while playing in high school.

Craig, a shooting guard, led her high school team to a fourth-place finish in the Canadian National Championships two years ago.

At 5-foot-11, Craig not only brings size, but also speed, agility, and shooting according to her teammates.

Diane Peterson, a junior transfer from the College of Marin, has an impressive record as a shooting guard. “(Peterson is) one of the best 3-point shooters in California,” Jenkins said.

She tied the state record in beyond-the-arc shots, knocking down nine 3-pointers in a single game last year while playing at the junior college level.

According to Peterson, her “leadership” and “will to win” are her greatest contributions to the women’s basketball program, that, in the 2001-02 season shot a dismal 20-percent from 3-point land.

Katelyn Ciampi, a 6-foot-2 freshman center, led Alhambra High School to a second- place finish in the Northern California championships. As senior in high school, Ciampi had 14 double-doubles and 53 blocks, averaging 1.7 blocks per game.

“I want to go out, have a good time, and just play,” Ciampi said.

Out of the seven players returning from last season, four are starters. Sydney Gatson, Kristine Knowlton, Danielle Iceman, and Alyson Thurman make up a veteran core of players. Gatson and Thurman have minor injuries and could possibly miss the beginning of the regular season.

Gatson, who led the Sacramento State team last year in assists, and was second in scoring, is suffering from tightness in the back.

Thurman, who led the team in rebounding, is still aggravated from a similar back injury she suffered in a game against Idaho State.

“They’re both preparing themselves for the upcoming season,” Jenkins said.

The bulk of the team is composed of juniors and freshman. The only senior on the team is Crystal Conley.

The profound lack of senior guidance, coupled with a winless record the previous year has not diminished Jenkin’s optimism at all.

“It’s a little strange. Usually there are three or four seniors on the team. We’re not lacking leadership though, we’re just lacking seniors,” Jenkins said. “It’s a group of people who have excelled at leadership. They have the mental strength to win.”

Although the team may be psychologically prepared for the coming season, painful memories of a 0-27 record last year still linger over the team.

“There were a lot of injuries and (we had) people who had not played Division I basketball,” Jenkins said. “To win we need to build a great bond within the team, on and off the court. It’s already starting. We just need to get everyone within the same mind-set, and keep everyone together.”