AUSTIN, Texas – The Concordia Texas women's basketball team will rely on fresh faces and veteran leadership, including All-American Southwest Conference honorees Kaycie Dunkerley and Payton Berger, when they open their 2019-20 season against Whitman on Friday at 7 p.m.

The Tornados have six returners, including four starters, from last season, looking to bounce back after not making the conference tournament for the first time since 2011.

Concordia Texas will have a slew of upper and lower classmen for the upcoming year, relying on seniors Dunkerley and Berger to provide the offense after career-best seasons in 2018-19.

In the conference preseason poll, which is voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors, the Tornados were picked finish fourth in the ASC West, earning 69 total points.

In the players to watch list, Dunkerley and Berger along with Alyssa Marquez were selected.

Dunkerley had a historic junior year, finishing with a single-season school record 79 made 3-pointers. She averaged a team-high 14.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, including a career-best 31-point performance in a win over Schreiner, and was named to the ASC West First Team.

Berger, meanwhile, earned ASC West Second Team honors after producing 13.7 points and a team-best 8.2 boards per game. She finished the season with six double-doubles, including a career-high 26 points along with 10 rebounds in a loss to UT Dallas.

Marquez, one of the team's four seniors, started in 22 of the team's 25 games last season and was an all-around player from the point guard position, averaging 4.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists a game.

Allie Garza and Sam Hopper also return for the Tornados, looking to improve in year two with the program. Last season, the pair each played in at least 20 games for CTX, including a combined eight starts.

The Tornados will spend much of their non-conference schedule on the road, playing only one home game till the new year. They will open the season playing in the Whit Classic, where they will face Northwest Conference teams Whitman and Whitworth on Nov.15-16.

Concordia Texas will then return to Texas and have an early conference opener, traveling to Belton, Texas, to face foe Mary Hardin-Baylor on Nov. 19, followed by a non-conference showdown against Southwestern on Nov. 21.

The Tornados will have their home opener on Dec. 6 when they will have a rematch against the Blues of Whitman. The team will play in their second tournament of the season during the Christmas break, competing in the UT Dallas Classic, before reigniting conference play on Jan. 2 against the Comets.

Concordia Texas will look to return to the ASC Tournament in 2020, after barely missing the cut last season, using a mixture of its six returners as well as its six freshmen.

The Tornados will open the season on Friday in Spokane, Wash., against Whitman at 7 p.m. CST.