Northwestern Selected to Finish Fifth in GPAC Preseason Poll

Red Raiders head into year three under Kristin Rotert

SIOUX CITY, Iowa - The Northwestern College women's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) this season by the league's head coaches, the conference office announced this morning. The Red Raiders picked up 81 points in this year's poll.

The annual poll is voted upon and compiled by all 12 league coaches, points were awarded on an 11-1 basis and coaches could not vote for their own team. Two teams picked up at least one first-place vote.

The Red Raiders were selected to finish fifth in the poll, after finishing in a tie for fifth-place a season ago with a 19-11 (14-8 GPAC) record. Northwestern picked up 81 votes, finishing three votes behind Jamestown who was selected to finish fourth by the league's head coaches.

Northwestern returns eight letter winners from the 2022-23 season, including the top-two leading scorers in Maddie Jones (Gr., Twin Lakes, Iowa) and Molly Schany (Sr., Emmetsburg, Iowa). Jones garnered First Team All-Conference accolades last season and averaged a team-best 14.6 points per game, while Schany earned Second Team All-Conference honors averaging 14.4 points per game and a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game.

The Dordt Defenders have been picked to repeat as regular season champions of the GPAC, picking up 11 of the 12 first-place votes and 121 team points. The defending conference tournament champions, the Chargers of Briar Cliff University were picked to finish second, and the only other team with 100+ points, tallying 105. The Concordia (Neb.) Bulldogs picked up the 12^th first-place vote and tallied 99 points for a third-place prediction.

GPAC action is slated to begin on Wednesday, November 15 for the Red Raiders with a trip to Omaha, Neb. to battle the Flames of the College of Saint Mary at 6:00 p.m. from the Lied Fitness Center.

2023-24 GPAC Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches' Poll
Place	School	Pts (1st place votes)	2022-23 Record
1.	Dordt Defenders	121 (11)	30-4 (20-2 GPAC); Regular Season GPAC Champions; NAIA Round of 16
2.	Briar Cliff Chargers	105	26-8 (17-5 GPAC); GPAC Tournament Champions; NAIA Round of 16
3.	Concordia (Neb.) Bulldogs	99 (1)	20-12 (14-8 GPAC); NAIA Second Round
4.	Jamestown Jimmies	84	22-9 (16-6 GPAC); NAIA Second Round
5.	Northwestern Red Raiders	81	19-11 (14-8 GPAC); NAIA First Round
6.	Dakota Wesleyan Tigers	69	23-9 (15-7 GPAC); NAIA Second Round
7.	Morningside Mustangs	68	17-13 (11-10 GPAC); NAIA First Round
8.	Doane Tigers	61	14-15 (8-14 GPAC)
9.	Hastings Broncos	40	11-17 (7-14 GPAC)
10.	Mount Marty Lancers	30	7-21 (4-18 GPAC)
11.	Midland Warriors	19	4-23 (2-20 GPAC)
12.	College of Saint Mary Flames	15	6-22 (3-19 GPAC)

The season begins is slated to tip-off on Friday, November 3 when the Red Raiders head to the Chicagoland area to begin the season with a pair of games against Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) foes in IU Northwest (Ind.) and Trinity Christian (Ill.) on November 3-4.

Don't forget to follow Northwestern College Athletics on Facebook @nwcraiders, Twitter @nwcraiders, and Instagram @nwcraiders! #RaidersStandOut

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Players Mentioned

#4 Maddie Jones: G; 5' 5"; Graduate Student

#34 Molly Schany: F; 6' 1"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#4 Maddie Jones
: 5' 5"; Graduate Student
: G

#34 Molly Schany
: 6' 1"; Senior
: F

Players Mentioned

#4 Maddie Jones

#34 Molly Schany

Players Mentioned

#4 Maddie Jones

#34 Molly Schany