INDIANAPOLIS – In a narrow vote, Ursuline was determined as the early favorite following the announcement of the 2017-18 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour on Thursday.
A total of seven different teams in the league received at least one first-place vote, setting the stage for what coaches are perceiving as a wide-open race for the new season. Cedarville garnered three first-place votes, Ursuline, Findlay and Walsh, each earned two first-place votes, and Ohio Dominican, Malone and Hillsdale, had one.
The Arrows of Ursuline are reigning conference regular-season champs and qualified for the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional along with Great Midwest tournament champion Malone.
Ursuline received two first-place votes, but topped all 13 teams with 115 points in the overall balloting. The Arrows were 23-8 in 2016-17 and were near-perfect in the conference schedule at 13-1.
Now a senior, Laney Lewis is ready to lead Ursuline with her array of skills in the post that make her a perennial All-American candidate and one of the best players in the country regardless of position.
Lewis is the all-time conference leader in rebounds and blocked shots; at sixth in points, she is quickly climbing that list as one of just six players to reach the 1,000 point club.
Picked as runner-up with three first-place votes and 109 total points is Cedarville. The Yellow Jackets were 19-11 last season and advanced into the conference tournament semifinals.
Defending conference tourney champ was Malone will start the new year in fifth. The rise of talented and now-graduated senior guard Rachel Goddard carried all the way through into the national tournament as the Pioneers upset Ursuline in the G-MAC Championship final.
The league newcomers feature Findlay, Hillsdale, Lake Erie, Ohio Dominican and Walsh, and the coaches are expecting them to factor into the conference race from the onset.
Findlay was picked third and the Oilers will be playing in front of a national audience in late January against Kentucky Wesleyan on ESPN3 in Croy Gymnasium. The Oilers were 13-15 in their final year in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference.
Ohio Dominican, host of the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship Elite Eight, was selected fourth with 99 points. The city of Columbus and ODU was selected to also host the 2019 and 2021 Elite Eight women’s basketball contests.
Walsh and Hillsdale were voted back-to-back in sixth and seventh while Kentucky Wesleyan starts the year in eighth. Lake Erie and Davis & Elkins were only separated by two points in the voting for ninth and 10th.
Trevecca, Alderson Broaddus and Ohio Valley, officially round out the remaining three teams in the preseason coaches poll, respectively.
The 2017-18 Great Midwest Women’s Basketball Season Preview will be posted next week on GreatMidwestsports.com with assistance from each institution’s sports information staff.
2017-18 Great Midwest Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| 1. Ursuline (2 first-place votes) |
115 |
| 2. Cedarville (3 first-place votes) |
109 |
| 3. Findlay (2 first-place votes |
101 |
| 4. Ohio Dominican (1 first-place vote) |
99 |
| 5. Malone (1 first-place vote) |
96 |
| 6. Walsh (2 first-place votes) |
94 |
| 7. Hillsdale (1 first-place vote) |
86 |
| 8. Kentucky Wesleyan |
65 |
| 9. Lake Erie |
48 |
| 10. Davis & Elkins |
46 |
| 11. Trevecca |
36 |
| 12. Alderson Broaddus |
26 |
| 13. Ohio Valley |
15 |