INDIANAPOLIS – For the past two years, Kentucky Wesleyan has advanced to the G-MAC Championship semifinals in search of their second tournament title.
After winning their first G-MAC Championship trophy in 2013-14, the Panthers are hoping to get over that semifinal obstacle to punch their ticket back into the title game this year.
The coaching tandem of Caleb and Nicole Nieman guided KWC to a 17-10 overall record in 2015-16 with a 9-5 league record. The G-MAC Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour has the Panthers slotted for third in the conference this season.
Behind Jennifer Walker-Crawford’s 14 points and eight rebounds in the 2016 conference tournament semis against Cedarville, the Panthers played to a closely contested game that was down to a three-point margin with under five minutes left in regulation.
Similar to the roster structure of Davis & Elkins, Kentucky Wesleyan returns its core contributors and another year of experience could really help push them back to the top as a contender.
Brittany Wells started 18 games last year. Walker-Crawford started 23, Jill Jones started 20 and Erin Dorn started 24. That kind of returning talent helps keep chemistry intact as they work together as a familiar unit for the second season in a row.
Wells and Walker-Crawford both had double-digit point production to help lead the offense. Wells averaged almost 12 points per game and Walker-Crawford was at nearly 11. Wright ranked fifth in the conference in rebounding at 6.4 per contest and Walker-Crawford was also in the top 10.
At home, KWC played to a 15-5 record. The Panthers are predicated on hard-nosed defense, permitting under 60 points per game as a team to rank second in the league last season.
The Niemans have five total freshmen on this year’s roster.
Kentucky Wesleyan will also play a healthy dose of Midwest Region non-conference competition with Drury, Illinois-Springfield and Missouri-St. Louis (twice) on the schedule.
The preseason will feature some intriguing exhibitions against Cincinnati and Austin Peay, both NCAA Division I opponents.
Video interviews were not available at the time of release from the institution.