INDIANAPOLIS – The Drury University, University of Southern Indiana, and Truman State University women’s basketball teams have been selected to win their respective divisions for the upcoming 2021-22 Great Lakes Valley Conference season, it was announced by the league office Thursday. The annual GLVC Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll was voted on by the league coaches and ranks the top-five teams in each of the three divisions.
Defending GLVC Champion Drury (24-2, 17-1 GLVC in 2020-21) was voted first in the West Division with 16 total points and all four possible first-place votes, as Conference policy prohibits coaches from casting a vote for their own team. The Panthers were ranked in the top five during all seven weeks of Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) polls in 2020-21 and went on to win the league’s West Division and their fifth-straight tournament title. After winning the GLVC crown, Drury went on to win the NCAA Midwest Regional and advanced all the way to the National Championship contest. Second-year head coach, Amy Eagan, will return three key players in reigning GLVC Player of the Year Paige Robinson and fellow All-GLVC honorees Payton Richards and Azia Lynch.
Rockhurst University was picked second behind Drury with 13 points and the other first-place vote, while Southwest Baptist University had nine points for third place. Missouri S&T (8) and William Jewell College (4) rounded out the five-team division.
Southern Indiana (11-5, 11-5) garnered 15 points and three first-place votes to lead the East Division despite having to withdraw from the 2021 GLVC Championship Tournament after COVID-19 return-to-play protocol prevented its participation. A pair of All-GLVC honorees make their return for the Screaming Eagles in fifth-year guard Emma DeHart and junior forward Hannah Haithcock.
Lewis University garnered the other two first-place votes and earned 14 points for the second spot in the poll with first-year head coach Matt Nelson taking the helm from reigning GLVC Coach of the Year Samantha Quigley Smith, while he inherits last year’s GLVC Freshman of the Year, Jenna Badali, and another All-GLVC pick in sophomore forward Kathryn Schmidt. The University of Indianapolis’ 10 points garnered third, while the University of Illinois Springfield (6) just edged McKendree University (5) for fourth place with the Bearcats completing the East.
Truman State University (17-5, 14-3) leads the Central Division with 16 points and all four possible first-place votes. Three All-GLVC honorees return for the Bulldogs in junior guard Hannah Belanger, senior guard Katey Klucking, and redshirt-junior forward Ellie Weltha, who will lead third-year mentor Theo Dean’s squad. Truman made an appearance as the 2-seed in the GLVC postseason event and advanced to the title game.
The University of Missouri-St. Louis claimed the second spot with the other first-place votes and 13 points, while Lindenwood University claimed third with 10 points. Maryville University picked up seven points for fourth and Quincy garnered four to finish fifth in the Central.
The GLVC regular season will feature three divisions and a 20-game schedule, where every team plays every divisional opponent twice – home and away – two random non-divisional opponents twice – home and away – and every other non-divisional opponent once. The top-eight teams with the most points derived from the familiar GLVC Point Rating System at the end of the regular season will earn a berth to the GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament March 3-6 at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Illinois, on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
The 2021-22 GLVC women’s basketball season officially begins Friday, Oct. 29, with Drury in action, while 11 others begin action on Friday, Nov. 12.
The complete 2021-22 GLVC Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll follows below.
| EAST |
|
CENTRAL |
|
WEST |
|
| Rank/School |
Points (1st) |
Rank/School |
Points (1st) |
Rank/School |
Points (1st) |
| 1. Southern Indiana |
15 (3) |
1. Truman State |
16 (4) |
1. Drury |
16 (4) |
| 2. Lewis |
14 (2) |
2. Missouri-St. Louis |
13 (1) |
2. Rockhurst |
13 (1) |
| 3. Indianapolis |
10 |
3. Lindenwood |
10 |
3. Southwest Baptist |
9 |
| 4. Illinois Springfield |
6 |
4. Maryville |
7 |
4. Missouri S&T |
8 |
| 5. McKendree |
5 |
5. Quincy |
4 |
5. William Jewell |
4 |