After Elite 8 Run, Whitman Poised to Capture NWC Crown

(First-place votes in parenthesis. Points awarded on 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis).

SEATTLE, Wash. – The Whitman Missionaries are a near-unanimous preseason favorite to bring home the Northwest Conference championship trophy in 2013-14. Whitman earned seven of nine first-place votes from the head coaches of the Northwest Conference, for a total of 70 of a possible 72 points in the poll.

Last season, Whitman finished second in the standings with a 13-3 conference mark and lost by a single point to Whitworth in the NWC Tournament semi-final. From there, Michelle Ferenz's team caught fire at the right time, winning three games in the NCAA Tournament before falling in the Sectional Final to Williams, 63-53.

The Missionaries come into 2013-14 as the 11^th-ranked team in the Division III, according to D3hoops.com. Whitman returns four starters from that squad that made a run in the NCAA Tournament, including three All-NWC selections. Senior forward Sarah Anderegg was the conference's third leading scorer averaging 13.7 points a game and junior guard Heather Johns was fifth in that category pouring in 11.9 PPG. Meghan White, who was All-NWC Honorable Mention, averaged over 8 rebounds per game and was second in the conference in blocks with 38. She returns as a starter at the post position.

The only starter not coming back to the Missionaries is forward Mary Madden. Madden averaged 8.3 points and 5.0 rebounds a game during her senior season. Junior forward Hallie Buse is poised to take her role in Whitman's starting five.

Receiving the other two first-place votes in the poll was last season's regular season champion Lewis & Clark, earning 55 points.

Lewis & Clark rolled to a 14-2 NWC record and earned the top seed in the NWC Tournament before falling to Whitworth in the championship game. The Pios received an at-large bid into the NCAA Championship Tournament, winning their first round match-up before falling to conference foe Whitman in the second round.

Lewis & Clark suffer, arguably, the biggest loss coming into the season with the graduation of two-time NWC Player of the Year Kristina Williams. Williams paced the league in scoring last season, putting up more than 18 points a game. She was also the team's leading rebounder with 8.4 a night and led the team in minutes and field goal percentage.

Williams is not the only significant departure for the Pioneers. They will be without the services of All-NWC First Team guard Sara Villanueva. Villanueva put up 10.2 points, dished 3.0 assists and grabbed 3.4 rebounds a game.

The cupboard is not bear, however, for head coach Juli Fulks. The Pios return three starters (senior guard Kathlene Howe, junior forward Casey Zinn and senior guard Tayler Wang) from last year's starting five and are preseason ranked No. 17 in the country. They will also have senior guard Katie Anderson, who was second on the team in scoring with 11.7 PPG, to give the Pioneers a formidable starting lineup.

Just one point behind Lewis & Clark are the George Fox Bruins, tallying 54 points, for third in the poll. George Fox finished tied for third with Whitworth a season ago and earned the fourth seed in the NWC Tournament.

With 11 returning players, including four starters, and seven newcomers who could all contribute quickly, the Bruins are the third team in the NWC to begin the season in D3hoops.com's Preseason Top 25 poll.

The one lost starter for George Fox is four-time All-NWC First-Teamer Hannah Munger. The 6-5 post player averaged 11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 blocks a game during her senior season. Even with the loss of Munger, fourth-year head coach Michael Meek should have enough talent to challenge for a conference title and postseason berth.

2012-13 NWC Tournament champion Whitworth comes in as the fourth team in the coaches' poll with 42 points.

Whitworth won was the third seed in the NWC Tournament last season and won both tournament games on the opponent's floor and earned the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

The Pirates graduate two All-NWC selections in guards Emily Travis and Emily Guthrie. Travis was the squad's leading scorer (11.6 PPG) and Guthrie was the leading rebounder (4.8 RPG). This year's team looks to be led by senior guard Kayla Johnson, who scored 10.1 PPG and grabbed 4.5 RPG last season.

With 37 points, good enough for fifth place, are the University of Puget Sound Loggers. Fifth is where the Loggers finished 2012-13, going 7-9 in conference.

Puget Sound will have a young but talented roster. The hole left by last season's leading scorer and First Team All-NWC guard Kelsey McGinnis (14.0 PPG) will be filled by Amanda Forshay, Emily Sheldon and Katie Ainslie. Forshay was second on the Loggers with 5.4 rebounds and 8.9 points a game.

The Pacific (Ore.) Boxers are predicted to finish sixth and earned 27 points.

Pacific (Ore.) graduates three starters from a team that went 14-10 overall and 7-9 in the NWC a season ago. Perhaps the biggest loss will be All-NWC Second Team selection Paige Jensen. Jensen led the Northwest Conference in rebounding last season with 9.8 a game. The Boxers do return senior guard Alex Pfefferle and her 10.0 points 3.6 rebounds a game.

In at No. 7 are the Linfield Wildcats with 19 points accumulated. Linfield finished 2012-13 with just two conference wins and three wins overall.

Head coach Robin Potera-Haskins has a young and promising team that returns all five starters from last season. The Wildcats will lean heavily on All-NWC Second Team junior guard Katelyn Henson, who led them in points (11.9) and rebounds (8.3) last season.

Right behind Linfield is Pacific Lutheran in eighth, earning 17 points.

Much like Linfield, Pacific Lutheran returns all five starters from a season ago. Senior post player Samantha Potter led the Lutes with 13.4 PPG and was second in the NWC with 9.0 RPG.

Forecasted to finish ninth are the Willamette Bearcats with 12 points.

The Bearcats lost only one senior from 2012-13 in guard Sophie Wilson, who was the team's leading scorer. Returning starters are senior guard Rebecca Josephson, junior guard Katie Kalugin, junior point guard Jojo DeLong and junior forward Julia Brand.

The 2013-14 women's basketball season gets underway Nov. 15.

--Compiled by Northwest Conference Sports Information Director Christopher Brown with submissions from Northwest Conference institution sports information directors. Votes are submitted by head coaches of the Northwest Conference.