INDIANAPOLIS - Similar to last season, parity could be the theme of this year’s Great Midwest Athletic Conference women’s basketball season as four teams received first place votes in the 2014-15 preseason coaches poll. Trevecca tops the list with four first-place votes, followed by Cedarville with three, and Kentucky Wesleyan and Ursuline with a vote each.
 
In his 10th year, head coach Gary Van Atta is eight wins away from reaching the 600-win plateau as his Trevecca squad returns with First Team All-Conference selection senior Kaci Britt Belle. The team will look to avenge last year’s championship loss to Kentucky Wesleyan, after earning the top seed and finishing in first place through the regular-season conference schedule.
 
Cedarville received three first place votes on the strength of their 13-3 conference record a year ago.  The Yellow Jackets return three of their top four scorers from a year ago in seniors Raegan Ryan and Deborah Gordon, along with junior Kayla Linkous. 
 
Last year’s conference tournament champion Panthers, finished the regular season as the No. 3 seed and that is where they start their journey to repeat. Kentucky Wesleyan boasted the best offensive and defensive scoring numbers a year ago. The Panthers return two seniors including the team’s second leading scorer, Jordanne Gambill.  However, the husband and wife coaching team of Caleb and Nicole Nieman must deal with the loss of four seniors including the G-MAC Player of the Year and honorable mention All-American Karly Rhoads.
 
Ursuline, which finished an even 14-14 overall and 8-8 in conference, received a first-place vote as a program that has been on the climb since hiring Shannon Sword in 2012. The Arrows will return seniors Brianna Woods, the program’s all-time leader in assists, and Emma Ricketts, alongside G-MAC Freshman of the Year, Erica Huber. The Arrows will have to replace the conference’s leading scorer in Tajanee Wells.
 
Davis & Elkins slips to fifth in the preseason rankings after finishing 12-4 last season in the league, needing to replace the team’s leading scorer and the conference’s leading scorer within the G-MAC schedule, Jorden Lykes. However, the team returns Stephanie Wooten, Ashley Bowles, and Sharmaine Baker, all of whom averaged double-digit scoring last season.
 
Central State, Alderson Broaddus, Ohio Valley and Salem International, round out the preseason rankings. Across the board, the rankings on each of the coaches ballots were fairly consistent aside from the four teams earning first-place votes.
 
The complete preseason poll is below. The 2014-15 regular season tips off on November 14 with six teams in action. A full women’s basketball preview will be released next week and the second annual virtual media day will be released in two weeks, leading up to the start of the season.