INDIANAPOLIS – In one of the closest mathematical votes in league history, Hillsdale and Findlay shared bragging rights as co-favorites in the 2018-19 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour.
If a tie for first wasn’t enough, another deadlock for third also unfolded between Cedarville and Walsh as all first-place votes were distributed between the four successful programs.
The 14 Great Midwest programs represents the largest contingent as the league prepares to tip off its seventh season.
The coaches think it’s going to be tussle at the top following Hillsdale and Findlay colliding in last year’s championship final and going on to represent the conference in the NCAA Midwest Regional.
Because both the Chargers and Oilers each received the same point total (153), they are billed as preseason co-favorites in this year’s coaches poll. Hillsdale did receive five first-place votes to Findlay’s four.
Hillsdale’s initial ride for head coach Matt Fritsche in his first year was a memorable one. As the No. 5 seed, the Chargers won by double-digits in each round of the conference tournament. It would be fair to say HC caught the rest of the league a little off guard, but that is no longer the case with the senior triumvirate of Allie DeWire, Makenna Ott and Brittany Gray, back in uniform.
The Oilers will miss their backcourt combo of Haley Horstman and Lynsey Englebrecht, the nation’s top three-point shooter with 3.66 per game. But UF returns a bonafide All-American candidate with Anna Hintz, a nightly double-double threat who is a matchup nightmare in the post.
In a similar situation, Walsh and Cedarville tallied 142 points in the balloting to officially tie. The Cavaliers earned one more first-place vote with three to the Yellow Jackets’ two. Walsh had the 2017-18 Great Midwest Freshman of the Year, Mayci Sales.
Cedarville was a team that cracked the WBCA national rankings at No. 22 and also appeared in the Midwest Region rankings as a bubble team vying for an at-large bid for the national tourney. The Yellow Jackets also captured the regular-season title in 2017-18 and top seed for the conference championship.
Rounding out the top five was Ohio Dominican with 122 points. The Panthers are hosting this year’s 2019 NCAA DII Women’s Elite Eight and also again for 2021 in Columbus.
Kentucky Wesleyan, which played on ESPN3 last year vs. Findlay, will begin the year in the upper half of the preseason standings at sixth while Ursuline and the program’s new era minus stars Laney Lewis and Camryn Hill, follows in seventh.
Trevecca was polled eighth and first-year conference member Tiffin was picked in the same spot as the men’s program, in ninth.
Only one point separated Lake Erie from Malone in 10th and 11th while West Virginia schools Davis & Elkins, Alderson Broaddus and Ohio Valley, rounded out this year’s poll, respectively.
Exhibitions are on the horizon for many teams and it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the conference was able to beat Division I programs after Cedarville’s women beat Penn State last year, 59-53.
A few of the more high profile opponents for preseason games include Findlay vs. Michigan (Nov. 1) and Hillsdale vs. Michigan State (Nov. 1). Tiffin also faces Miami (OH) from the MAC and Trevecca will test itself against Middle Tennessee State.
The league is about to be infused with a whole new wave of talent after a total of 12 seniors graduated from the 2017-18 all-conference team.
2018-19 Great Midwest Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
| School |
Points |
| t1. Hillsdale (5 first-place votes) |
153 |
| t1. Findlay (4 first-place votes) |
153 |
| t3. Walsh (3 first-place votes) |
142 |
| t3. Cedarville (2 first-place votes) |
142 |
| 5. Ohio Dominican |
122 |
| 6. Kentucky Wesleyan |
105 |
| 7. Ursuline |
97 |
| 8. Trevecca |
85 |
| 9. Tiffin |
67 |
| 10. Lake Erie |
61 |
| 11. Malone |
60 |
| 12. Davis & Elkins |
40 |
| 13. Alderson Broaddus |
31 |
| 14. Ohio Valley |
16 |