Trinity Preseason Favorite in 2022-23 SCAC Women's Basketball Poll

SUWANEE, Ga. - The Trinity University women's basketball team has been tabbed as the favorite for the 2022-23 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference basketball season, based on balloting from the league's head coaches.

In search of its 10th SCAC women’s basketball crown, Trinity earned its second-straight league championship a year ago by defeating Colorado College, 50-45, in the title game. The Tigers garnered eight first-place votes to top the coaches’ poll with 64 points.

Trinity, ranked fifth in the d3hoops.com preseason poll, returns three all-conference performers and four starters off the 2021-22 squad that made a historic run to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament in the program’s 12th national tournament appearance. The Tigers finished 28-3 last season, including a school record 27-game win streak and a perfect 16-0 record in league play. It marked just the second time in Trinity history the Tigers finished the regular season with an unblemished mark in SCAC action. The senior duo of Ashlyn Milton and Maggie Shipley headline the Tiger returnees as Milton earned First Team and Shipley secured Second Team All-SCAC honors a season ago. The two combined for 866 points, 261 rebounds and 107 assists in 2021-22. Junior guard Maggie Robbins rounds out the returning All-SCAC performers from last year after earning Honorable Mention accolades. Robbins, the 2022 SCAC Tournament Most Valuable Player, finished the season averaging 6.9 points on 44 percent shooting and added 4.3 rebounds and a team best 3.3 assists per night. 

Head coach Cameron Hill is back on the Trinity sidelines for his 11th season with the Tigers. In 10 seasons at the helm, he has amassed an overall record of 221-47 (.825) and stands at 127-17 (.882) in SCAC play. Hill has guided the Tigers to five SCAC tournament titles and led the Tigers to their first trip to the NCAA Quarterfinals since 2003 last year. 

After advancing to its second-straight SCAC Tournament Championship game last season, Colorado College received the final first-place vote and finished second in this year’s preseason poll with 55 points. The CC Tigers will be led a pair of returning First Team All-SCAC performers from a year ago in junior Audrey Bayston and senior Anna Fanelli. Fanelli set new SCAC single season records last year after averaging 8.9 assists per game for a total of 239 during her junior campaign, while Bayston led the Tigers averaging 13.9 points per game. The duo helped lift CC to a program-record 11 SCAC wins last season and tied for the most wins in the SCAC era with 16, equaling the 2008-09 team. 

Rounding out the top three in the preseason rankings is Texas Lutheran University, which is slated to finish third after accumulating 50 total points in the poll. The Bulldogs have made four consecutive trips to the SCAC Tournament semifinals and are coming off a program record 13 SCAC wins a season ago. TLU welcomes the return of two Honorable Mention All-SCAC honorees from last year in junior Tanyse Moehrig and sophomore Kailee Mulkey. Moehrig finished as the Bulldogs leader in rebounds (7.1 reb/g), while Mulkey made an immediate impact in her rookie campaign averaging 8.9 points per game, third best on the team. 

Austin College and Schreiner University checked in at a tie for fourth with 40 points apiece. The ‘Roos are highlighted by the return of Second Team All-SCAC honoree sophomore Sarah Putnicki. Putnicki led Austin College by averaging 1.0 blocks per game and added 8.2 points and 4.6 rebounds per outing.

Schreiner will lean on reigning SCAC First-Year Player of the Year, Demauria Miles, who returns for her sophomore campaign after leading the Mountaineers in scoring (11.0 points per game) and field goals made (97) as a freshman.

Southwestern University landed in the sixth position with 27 total points. Sophomore Ellie Ward returns after a standout rookie season that saw her named Honorable Mention All-SCAC. Ward averaged 10.1 points and chipped in 5.4 rebounds per contest for a Pirates team that finished second in the SCAC by averaging 46.8 total rebounds per game last year.

Coming in at seventh in the poll was the University of Dallas with 21 total points. The Crusaders are led by sophomore guard Canai McPherson who finished atop the SCAC with 18.9 points per game en route to earning Honorable Mention All-SCAC honors last year.

University of St. Thomas, led by Second Team All-SCAC performer Micayla Hamilton who averaged 11.8 points per game last season, earned 19 points to finish eighth in the team rankings.

Centenary College rounds out the 2022-23 women’s basketball coaches’ preseason poll with eight points. The Ladies welcome back senior Jazzmyn Jones who averaged 9.7 points per game on a team best 43.8 percent shooting.

The 2022-23 season begins on Tuesday, November 8, while the SCAC Tournament will be held at the end of February in San Antonio, Texas, hosted by Trinity University, and beginning the 24th.