The 26-year-old forward was instrumental in the Southern Hoiho’s strong efforts in the Tauihi Basketball Aotearoa league last season.
She helped her side reach the semifinals, where they were beaten 96-89 by the Tokomanawa Queens.
The Hoiho lost key import Ashten Prechtel towards the end of the season and were not able to overcome that setback.
But Richards said they were keen to build on the progress made.
She is the first player to sign on for the season and is looking forward to coming home to Dunedin once she has finished her commitments with the Hobart Chargers in the NBL 1.
"Last year we had a really good season and we just really want to improve on the ground work that we’ve set in," she said.
"[Prechtel’s injury] was unfortunate. But as a team we have a really good community and we have great cohesion on the court, and that led to us performing well."
The competition will be tougher this year. The league has introduced some changes it hopes will turn the competition into an elite product.
They have doubled the wages on offer and have raised the cap on imports from three to five, which will certainly lift the standard of play.
But it will also change the character of the competition.
The league has confirmed there will be restrictions when it comes to the number of imports on the court at the same time but the final details have not been ironed out yet.
It would not feel like a New Zealand league if both starting fives were made up of Americans and Australians, for example.
But with more imports floating about, there will be less court time for some of the New Zealand players.
"Another way of looking at it is as a player you are going to be pushed. You are going to have to work really hard this year to get on the court and get some playing minutes.
"I guess that will help with the New Zealand players learning from these more experienced players and hopefully that will have a flow-on effect ... and help bridge the gap for the national team to be more successful on the international stage."
As for the money, Richards said it was "nice for females to be rewarded and to get some good pay ... and to feel valued.
"Basketball New Zealand, Tauihi league and Sky Sport have really put a huge emphasis on supporting women’s basketball."
