The Lindenwood women's basketball team is set to return to the court in less than a week with a new-look roster and a first-year head coach in Phil Sayers.

A Michigan native, Sayers brings a proven track record of success at multiple levels of college basketball. Most recently, Sayers spent 14 seasons on staff at Grand Valley State, including the last 11 as Associate Head Coach.

At Grand Valley State, Sayers guided the team to 11 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, and back-to-back National Championships in 2024-25 and 2025-26. Overall, the Lakers have compiled a record of 314-50 in those 11 seasons, including five 30-win campaigns. Under Sayers, GVSU has won five-straight GLIAC regular season titles and four consecutive conference tournaments crowns. Overall, the Lakers have played in nine out of the last 11 GLIAC Tournament Finals.

Named the 2024-25 WBCA National Assistant Coach of the Year, Sayers has coached a First Team All-GLIAC performer in each of his 14 seasons at Grand Valley State, including the back-to-back conference Player of the Year in Rylie Bisballe, while Paige VanStee went on to earn WBCA First Team All-American Status.

Coach Sayers on Pre-Season:
"Looking back at where I feel this team was when we began in June compared to now I am pretty happy with the growth that this team has made. They have embraced the challenges put in front of them and come to each practice eager to improve." 

A New-Look Roster
Lindenwood's 2026-27 roster will feature 12 newcomers: six Division I transfers, two JUCO one Division II and three high school products. Fans can read all about the newcomers here.

Coach Sayers on the roster:
"As we built this roster we focused on finding great people, who were willing to be great teammates and wanted to be around a winning culture. I feel like we have done that. I love this group of young women. They are coachable, enjoy being together, and are striving to be the best version of ourselves on a daily basis. We have some size, the ability to shoot, and quite a few players who can get to the rim. One thing I love about this roster is that they really want to improve on a daily basis." 

2026-27 Schedule
The Lions will play a total of 32 games, including 14 inside Hyland Arena. Eight of Lindenwood's first 10 games to begin the year are on the road. The only two home contests are against Evansville and Stephens College. A 16-game Ohio Valley Conference slate begins on Wednesday, December 30 on the road at SIUE. The first home conference game is on January 2 against UT Martin.

Coach Sayers on the schedule: 
"Love the mix of games that we were able to put together this season! As a new group of players and staff we get to spend quite a bit of time together on the road to start the season. Starting with a great opportunity to open out in Colorado together. We have the opportunity to play four high major games that will all provide great tests and atmospheres for our team to play in. Combined with numerous quality mid-major teams I really believe this schedule will have us prepared for conference play. Really excited to welcome a handful of very good programs to Hyland in the non-conference portion of our schedule" 

Players to Watch
Among the newcomers is Violet McNece, a 6-foot guard who spent the 2025-26 season at Morehead State. McNece appeared in 31 games with 26 starts last season, averaging 9.5 points and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 40 percent from three-point range. She connected on 64 three-pointers, which ranked fifth in the OVC.

She along with Cadence Dykstra were tabbed as Players to Watch by the Ohio Valley Conference. Dykstra spent the last three seasons at the University of Toledo playing in 92 games, including 39 starts. During that time, she averaged 2.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in nearly 15 minutes of action. Dykstra scored a career-high 13 points against Long Beach State during the 2024-25 season and had the third most assists on the team a year ago. In the classroom, she was two-time CSC Academic All-District and one-time Academic All-MAC.

Season Tickets
Single-game and season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now and can be purchased at lindenwoodlions.com/tickets or by calling 636-949-4433.