RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — Depth can be a huge boost to a team, no matter the top-end talent it has, and depth should once again play a big part in the success of the Arkansas Tech women's basketball team this season.

The Golden Suns bring back six of their top eight scorers from a season ago, with all six averaging at least 16 minutes per game. Add to that five transfers who all can come in and make an impact immediately, and Tech can feel comfortable with a number of different combinations on the floor.

"We have a lot of girls coming back and a lot of starters that played a lot of minutes and scored a lot of points for us," coach Dave Wilbers said. "And they're all better this year. That's what I've been really impressed with. They're stronger, they're faster, they're bigger, and the new players have done a good job too of coming in and really giving us a lot of depth in all areas."

Jacinda Myers-Sanders is the lone senior on the Golden Suns squad, back after averaging 11.5 points and a team-high 7.4 rebounds per game in 2013-14. Junior Caroline Eubanks adds another imposing presence on the glass, as she averaged 7.0 boards to go along with 10.0 points per game a season ago. Anissa Pounds also returns after starting 26 times her freshman year, bringing back a team-best 12.8 points per game and 36.8 shooting percentage from distance.

Sophomores Danielle Frachiseur, Mary Crow and Anna Lea Little are also back after getting considerable time in their freshman campaigns. Frachiseur shot 46.8 percent from the field in averaging 6.6 points per game. Little's 28 treys were second on the team and helped her to a 6.2 scoring average, and Crow averaged 4.9 points per outing to go along with a team-high 44 steals on the season.

"One thing is we have a team with a lot of depth," Wilbers said. "We have a lot of depth at all our positions. We can play a lot of different players this year, as long as they deserve to play, and I think we can use a lot of different combinations with a lot of different talent."

Adding to his six returners, Wilbers brought in five transfers, including junior college All-American Fatima Adams, who, along with teammate Katrina Hayden, helped Blinn College to the NJCAA quarterfinals last season. Shaunice Robinson earned an honorable mention All-America nod while at Eastern Arizona a year ago, while Fabina Monte averaged 11.2 points and 4.7 rebounds at Seward County.

The Golden Suns open the regular season Monday, hosting Ecclesia College in Tucker Coliseum, and will face a few Central Region foes, plus old Gulf South Conference rivals Delta State and North Alabama in the nonconference season before starting Great American Conference play in early December.

"I like our schedule," Wilbers said. "We have a lot of home games, and a lot of region games. There's a bunch of quality teams.

"We have a tough schedule, and we start our conference schedule early this year. So we've probably been pushing a little harder this offseason to get ready for it than we have in the past."