HILLSBORO, Ore. – Although four different
teams received first-place votes, Whitman College is a solid
favorite to repeat as the Northwest Conference women’s
basketball champion in 2014-15 after a near-run to the NCAA
Division III national title last year, according to a pre-season
poll of the league’s nine coaches.
The Missionaries posted a perfect 16-0 conference record last
year, received an at-large bid to the NCAA playoffs after suffering
their first loss of the season to Whitworth University in the NWC
Tournament, then roared through the national tournament before
falling to Fairleigh Dickinson University-Florham in the
championship game. Whitman’s final record showed a 31-2
mark and a No. 2 final ranking in both the D3hoops.com and the
Women’s Basketball Coaches Association polls.
Whitman garnered six first-place votes and a total of 67 points
in this season’s conference poll. Despite the
graduation of forward Sarah Anderegg, a First Team All-NWC and
Third Team All-American, and Second Team All-NWC post Meghan White,
the Missionaries expect to be title contenders again anyway with
the return of Heather Johns (5-7 Sr. PG), the NWC Player of the
Year and First Team All-American. Whitman, which is No. 7 in
the nation in D3hoops.com’s pre-season poll, is led by
two-time NWC Coach of the Year Michelle Ferenz, who is entering her
14th season in Walla Walla with a career record of
203-134.
The crowd right behind Whitman could hardly be tighter, as the
University of Puget Sound Loggers and the Whitworth Pirates tied
for second in the poll with 52 points apiece and the George Fox
University Bruins were fourth with 51 points. All three teams
picked up one first-place vote. Whitworth and George Fox both
made the NCAA Tournament last year, the Pirates defeating the
Bruins in the opening round, and both were nationally ranked at the
end of the season by D3hoops (Whitworth 20th, George Fox
24th).
Puget Sound finished fourth in the NWC last year at 9-7 and was
16-10 overall, falling to Whitman in the first round of the NWC
Tournament. The Loggers will challenge for the post-season
this year by returning All-NWC First Team selection Amanda Forshay
(6-0 Sr. F) and honorable mentions Katy Ainslie (6-1 Sr. P) and
Emily Sheldon (5-11 Jr. G). Coach Loree Payne has a 61-42
record at UPS after four seasons.
Whitworth finished 21-8 last season and third in the NWC at
12-4, knocking off George Fox in both the NWC and NCAA
Tournaments. The Pirates must replace WBCA First Team
All-American and All-NWC First Team forward Kayla Johnson, but
welcome back Second Teamer K.C. McConnell (5-7 So. G) to spearhead
their post-season hopes again. Lexie Zappone (5-7 Jr.
G) is the Pirates’ only other returning starter. Helen
Higgs, the dean of NWC women’s basketball coaches, goes into
her 21st season with a record of 305-207.
George Fox went 22-5 overall and 13-3 to place second in the
conference. Gone from that squad is All-NWC First Team
forward Megan Arnoldy, but the Bruins will look to Second Team pick
Justine Benner (6-0 Jr. W) and honorable mention three-point
specialist Jami (Roos) Morris (5-7 Sr. G) to continue their string
of post-season appearances (eight straight years in at least the
NWC Tournament and seven NCAA berths, with a national title in 2009
and a runner-up finish in 2012). Coach Michael Meek is closing in
on 100 victories, standing 98-19 after four years in Newberg.
Lewis & Clark College and Pacific University (Ore.) came in
fifth and sixth respectively in the coaches’ poll. The
Pioneers collected 34 points while the Boxers picked up 31
votes.
Asha Jordan takes over as the new head coach at Lewis &
Clark after stints as an assistant at Pepperdine University and
Occidental College. The Pioneers will be without All-NWC
First Team guard Tayler Wang and honorable mention guard Katie
Anderson, who graduated, but bring back Ayisat Afolabi (5-11 So. F)
as a double-digit scorer around which to build.
Olivia Cook (6-0 Sr. G) earned All-NWC honorable mention honors
for the Boxers last year, and should get additional scoring help
from Sarah Curl (6-0 So. F). Both averaged 10 or more points
a game last season. Seventh-year coach Sharon Rissmiller has
guided the Boxers to winning records each of the last two
seasons.
Looking to spring some surprises this season are seventh-place
Linfield College, eighth-place Willamette University, and
ninth-place Pacific Lutheran University. Linfield garnered 21
points in the coaches’ voting, Willamette 14, and Pacific
Lutheran 12.
Linfield graduated All-NWC Second Team forward Kaely Maltman,
and will count on double-digit scorer Taylor Solomon (5-6 Sr. G) to
lead them upward in the standings. Jessica McMillan (6-0 Jr.
F) and Quincey Gibson (5-7 So. G) also return as starters for Robin
Potera-Haskins, who is in her fifth year with the Wildcats and has
a 349-209 record after 18 years as a college coach.
Jojo DeLong (5-4 Sr. G) is back to lead Willamette from her
point guard position after receiving All-NWC honorable mention last
year. Also back is double-digit scorer Katie Kalugin (5-8 Sr.
G), which should help the Bearcats improve under third-year head
coach Peg Swadener, a former assistant and associate head coach at
Portland State University.
Back for her second year as Pacific Lutheran’s head coach
is Jennifer Childress, who was an associate head coach at Western
Washington University for seven years. She lost a big piece
of the Lutes’ puzzle when All-NWC Second Team post Samantha
Potter graduated, but welcomes back starters Megan Abdo (5-7 Jr. G)
and Sarah Barnes (5-9 Jr. F) to lead a youthful roster that has no
seniors.
The 2014-15 season gets under way on Saturday, Nov. 15, with
eight teams in action. Lewis & Clark hosts Schreiner
University and Willamette takes on Montclair State University in
the Bon Appetit NWC Tipoff Classic in Portland, while Linfield
meets the University of La Verne and George Fox hosts Trinity
University (Texas) in the George Fox Classic. Puget Sound
meets Lynchburg College in the Johns Hopkins Tip-off Tournament in
Baltimore, Md., and Whitman takes on the State University of New
York-Geneseo in the Damon’s/Hampton Inn Tip-Off Tournament in
Wilmingon, Ohio. Pacific Lutheran visits the Pomona-Pitzer
Colleges and Whitworth hosts Eastern Oregon University.
Conference play begins with four games on January 2. The
four-team Northwest Conference Tournament is set for Thursday and
Saturday, Feb. 26 and 28, with 1 hosting 4 and 2 hosting 3 in the
semifinals and the highest remaining team hosting the finals.
The NWC Tournament champion earns the league’s automatic bid
to the NCAA National Tournament.
2014-15 Northwest Conference Women’s Basketball
Pre-Season Coaches’ Poll
|
TEAM
|
1STS
|
PTS
|
’13 NWC
|
’13 ALL
|
|
Whitman College
|
(6)
|
67
|
16-0
|
31-2
|
|
University of Puget Sound
|
(1)
|
52
|
9-7
|
16-10
|
|
Whitworth University
|
(1)
|
52
|
12-4
|
21-8
|
|
George Fox University
|
(1)
|
51
|
13-3
|
22-5
|
|
Lewis & Clark College
|
|
34
|
8-8
|
13-12
|
|
Pacific University (Ore.)
|
|
30
|
4-12
|
8-16
|
|
Linfield College
|
|
21
|
5-11
|
9-16
|
|
Willamette University
|
|
14
|
2-14
|
4-21
|
|
Pacific Lutheran University
|
|
12
|
3-13
|
7-18
|
(Points awarded on a 9-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Coaches
could not vote on their own teams.)