WBCA Top-25 Rankings (Jan. 7)
INDIANAPOLIS – Prior to a big weekend as part of the NCAA DII Showcase on ESPN3, Walsh officially cracked the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Top-25 Poll in the new national rankings that came out on Tuesday.
The Cavaliers, ranked 25th, were in the category of receiving votes before reeling off their sixth and seventh straight victories over the past week.
Under head coach Kate Bruce and her staff, Walsh is flying high at 12-2 overall while holding strong at the top of the new conference point rating system with a perfect 5-0 mark in league play.
Walsh carved out a signature win in the season to date against Kentucky Wesleyan in a rematch of last year’s conference tournament title before taking down Trevecca Nazarene.
The Cavaliers will look to carry their success from the new calendar year to the road at Ursuline before taking on Cedarville on Saturday in front of a national audience as part of a men’s and women’s doubleheader in Alumni Arena.
Walsh is the reigning conference tournament champion, NCAA Championship qualifier in the Midwest Region and the preseason coaches poll favorite. The Cavaliers also hosted last year’s conference tournament in North Canton.
Walsh is averaging over 86 points per game, tops in the league, along with its 40.2 percentage clip from long range. The Cavaliers are also tied for the league lead in field goal percentage, cumulatively making almost 50 percent of their tries.
Sophomore Quinoche ‘Sha’ Carter is back on top as the league’s leading scorer going into a new week. Carter is averaging 19.1 points per game.
Two-time conference player of the week Mayci Sales is currently fourth in the Great Midwest in scoring and third in rebounding. Her inside-outside play gives the Cavaliers opponents matchup nightmares out of the post.
Senior guard Tyler Newkirk has also solidified her status as a top 20 scorer in the conference this season. Her crown jewel on the stat sheet was a 25-point outburst on a perfect 8-for-8 showing from the floor vs. Ohio Dominican.
Bruce’s program showcases a wealth of returning championship experience with so many familiar faces back from last year’s team. Kimmie Borck is also in double-digit scoring for her season averages and sophomore Megan Ball (8.2 ppg) has moved into the starting lineup for the past five games.