The Hope College women’s basketball team will begin this season where the Flying Dutch left off the last season: ranked No.1.
The reigning NCAA Division III national champions topped the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 poll announced on Monday.
With 586 points, the Flying Dutch finished 19 points ahead of No. 2-ranked Transylvania University (Ky.).
The rest of the top five featured No. 3 New York University (548 points), No. 4 and 2022 national runner-up University of Wisconsin-Whitewater (531) and Trinity University, Texas (507).
Hope collected 14 first-place votes, most among the four teams who received first-place votes. NYU finished with six, NYU three and Whitewater two.
The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country,
Led by head coach Brian Morehouse, the Flying Dutch return only one starter from the team that earned the third national title in team history but bring back several key returners.
Fifth-year senior forward Kate Majerus (Sycamore, Illinois / Sycamore) is back after starting all 33 games last season.
Hope also is counting key returning reserves, including senior guard Ella McKinney (Haslett, Michigan / Haslett), who scored a game-high 21 points off the bench in the 78-71 victory vs. Whitewater in the national title game.
Senior guards Claire Baguley (Ada, Michigan / Forest Hills Central) and Meg Morehouse (Zeeland, Michigan / Zeeland East) averaged double-digit minutes for the Flying Dutch last season, as did senior forward Savannah Feenstra (Osceola, indiana / Northwood).
Hope tips off the 2022-23 season on Friday-Saturday, Nov. 11-12, at DeVos Fieldhouse by hosting a four-team tournament that includes Concordia University (Wis.), Geneva College (Pa.), and Illinois Wesleyan University.
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