INDIANAPOLIS – The pressure will be high for defending league champion Walsh to repeat as the Cavaliers topped the 2019-20 Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour released Wednesday.
 
Walsh was an overwhelming favorite in the balloting this year after qualifying for the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional and winning the conference tournament.
 
After a three-way tie unfolded at the end of the 2018-19 regular season, the Cavaliers separated themselves from the pack in the postseason to eventually cut down the nets on their own home floor.
 
Fast forward to 2019-20 and head coach Kate Bruce is locked and loaded for a repeat run – a very tough feat to accomplish as league history has shown so far. In seven years, there have been seven different tournament champions crowned.
 
The parity around the league is notable. Both Walsh and Kentucky Wesleyan were able to represent the Great Midwest in March Madness as national tournament selections. Cedarville had an argument as an at-large pick among the selection committee.  
 
But Walsh gathered in 11 of the 13 first-place votes for a total of 143 points. The Cavaliers have a great bookend tandem with super sophomore Quionche “Sha” Carter (17.1 ppg) and junior Mayci Sales (11.5 ppg) anchoring the front court.
 
Both were first team all-conference picks by the coaches and players like Lexie Scarton, Kimmie Borck, Ty Newkirk and Jamie Halloran, all had their shining moments during last year’s championship run.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan was one of those three teams locked in a first-place tie going into the playoffs and the Panthers were picked as preseason runner-up with 127 points. KWC also received the other first-place votes.
 
The Panthers do as good of job as anyone in spacing the floor to open up good looks for their many sharpshooters. KWC was the top scoring team (77.3 ppg) last season and finished second in three-point percentage.
 
Also one of the most efficient programs after leading the league in field goal and free throw percentage, is Cedarville as the Yellow Jackets start the year in third. Two thirds (Baylee Bennett, Regina Hochstetler) of the three-headed monster at guard have graduated, but all-conference sixth-year senior Abby Wolford brings her team-leading 12.7 ppg back.
 
The continued development of long guard Ashlyn Huffman will also be fun to watch as her numbers almost mirrored Wolford’s identically.
 
It will take some time to get used to a few of the new faces around Findlay as reigning Great Midwest Player of the Year Anna Hintz will need to be replaced along with all-conference swingman Elissa Ellerbrock. The Oilers were picked fourth after a very successful 20-win campaign in 2018-19.
 
Hintz was the league leader in both scoring and rebounding.
 
Next is Hillsdale in fifth and the Chargers are just one year removed from roaring to the conference championship as a huge underdog. By many accounts, it is still a very young roster that will continue to get better with experience. Hillsdale lost as much as anyone in the league with the graduation of all-conference players Brittany Gray, Makenna Ott an primary ball handler Allie DeWire.  
 
DeWire and Gray were both top 5 scorers in the conference to finish out their careers.
 
Ohio Dominican was predicted to finish in the middle of the pack, but with the returning talent, can certainly exceed those expectations and emerge as a title contender. All-conference guards Angela Troyer and Alexa Fisher combine for over 27 points per game.
 
Malone is next on the list as rookie guard Robin Campbell opened eyes around the league on her way to Great Midwest Freshman of the Year honors. Campbell averaged 14 points per game and was the lone double-digit scorer for the Pioneers as they relied on team balance.
 
A high-profile exhibition will be a fun experience for Trevecca Nazarene as the Trojans visit Storrs, Conn., for a game vs. UConn. The Trojans were dealt a big blow on the injury front last season as Callie Hackett saw the floor for only 11 games. But Olivia Pepperman and Brianna Bryant both averaged double-digit scoring in conference games last season and could be asked to do more this season as upperclassmen.
 
Only one senior is on the roster of Tiffin this year as the Dragons have playoff dreams in their second year as a league member. Selected ninth in the preseason poll, Tiffin certainly ended the year on a strong note as winners of four straight. Aarion Nichols (9.2 ppg) is the team’s top returning scorer.
 
Just two points behind Tiffin in the voting was Ursuline and the Arrows top four scorers are back. Last year was the only season UC has missed the conference tournament and the returning veteran experience should be a huge factor in getting back to the postseason.
 
Josie Chaddock and Farrah Benner lead the charge for Lake Erie as they combined for almost 25 points per game in 2018-19. A large crop of seven freshmen will be breaking into the roster and new coach Kenzie Perttu will look to integrate her system.
 
Alderson Broaddus and Ohio Valley were picked 12th and 13th, respectively. The Battlers carved out road wins at Ursuline and Ohio Dominican – certainly something to build on going into a new season. OVU endured a tough season in 2018-19 – the Fighting Scots kept it very close in several games, but couldn’t quite put a checkmark in the win column.


Great Midwest Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
 

School	Points
1. Walsh (11 first-place votes)	143
2. Kentucky Wesleyan (2 first-place votes)	127
3. Cedarville	124
4. Findlay	101
5. Hillsdale	98
6. Ohio Dominican	91
7. Malone	85
8. Trevecca Nazarene	64
9. Tiffin	56
10. Ursuline	54
11. Lake Erie	32
12. Alderson Broaddus	27
13. Ohio Valley	12