INDIANAPOLIS – The Lewis University and Quincy University women’s basketball teams have been selected to win the East and West Divisions, respectively, for the upcoming 2013-14 Great Lakes Valley Conference season, it was announced by the conference office Wednesday. The annual GLVC Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll was voted on by the league coaches and ranks the top-eight teams in each of the conference’s two divisions.
Lewis (24-6, 14-4 GLVC in 2012-13), which collected 113 points and 11 of 16 first-place votes in the poll, enters the season after winning its sixth conference title in a 76-61 victory against Maryville University. The Flyers are coming off their seventh 20-plus win season and their seventh NCAA Tournament appearance in the last eight years. Eighth-year head coach Lisa Carlsen returns three starters and 11 letterwinners from last season’s squad, including All-GLVC First Team Jess Reinhart, and sophomore point guard Jamie Johnson returns after sitting out 2012-13 with a knee injury. To start the season, the Women’s Division II Bulletin ranked Lewis No. 15 in the nation in its preseason poll. It also tabbed its “Super 16” selections, with senior Reinhart earning a spot on the Honorable Mention list. The Flyers nabbed a top-20 preseason spot from the Bulletin for the fifth time since the 2008-09 season. Lewis is scheduled to open its season at home in the “We Back Pat” Tournament on Nov. 9.
Quincy earned 112 points and 11 first-place votes to lead the West Division. The Lady Hawks finished last season 14-13 overall and 12-6 in conference play, and clinched a bye in the first round of the 2013 Deaconess GLVC Championship Tournament. Quincy’s season came to an end after falling to the University of Wisconsin-Parkside 57-46 in the tournament quarterfinal. The Lady Hawks return all five starters, including senior guard and All-GLVC First Team Lucy Cramsey, and senior center and GLVC All-Defensive Team Hannah Weedman.
In the East, the University of Indianapolis has been picked to finish second. The Greyhounds earned 101 points and four first-places votes, while the University of Southern Indiana was picked third with 89 points, and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside collected one first-place vote and was picked to finish fourth with 78 points. Bellarmine University came in fifth with 76 points. McKendree University followed in sixth place with 40 points, while Saint Joseph’s College garnered 37 points for seventh place, and University of Illinois Springfield received 34 points to round out the poll.
Of the two divisions this season, the conference coaches are predicting a wide-open race in the West. In addition to Quincy, four other schools earned the remaining five first-place votes. Maryville University collected two first-place votes and was picked to finish second with 91 points, while Missouri S&T earned 90 points and also received a first-place vote. Newcomer Truman State University earned a first-place vote to finish with 73 points in fourth place, while Drury University claimed 64 points and one first-place nod. William Jewell College (61) placed sixth, followed by the University of Missouri-St. Louis (55), and Rockhurst University (22) in eighth to complete the West Division.
The 2013-14 GLVC women’s basketball season opens Friday, Nov. 8, with Drury, Indianapolis, Maryville, and Missouri S&T in action.
2013-14 GLVC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll - EAST DIVISION
|
Rank |
Team (1st Place) |
Points |
|
1. |
Lewis (11) |
113 |
|
2. |
Indianapolis (4) |
101 |
|
3. |
Southern Indiana |
89 |
|
4. |
UW-Parkside (1) |
78 |
|
5. |
Bellarmine |
76 |
|
6. |
McKendree |
40 |
|
7. |
Saint Joseph's |
37 |
|
8. |
Illinois Springfield |
34 |
2013-14 GLVC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll - WEST DIVISION
|
Rank |
Team (1st Place) |
Points |
|
1. |
Quincy (11) |
112 |
|
2. |
Maryville (2) |
91 |
|
3. |
Missouri S&T (1) |
90 |
|
4. |
Truman State (1) |
73 |
|
5. |
Drury (1) |
64 |
|
6. |
William Jewell |
61 |
|
7. |
Missouri-St. Louis |
55 |
|
8. |
Rockhurst |
22 |