Franklin Selected as HCAC Women’s Basketball Favorite
GREENWOOD, IN – Franklin College has been voted the favorite to capture the 2011-12 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference women's basketball championship. The Grizzlies received six of the ten first-place votes in the HCAC Coaches Preseason Poll and collected 96 points in all. Hanover and Transylvania finished tied for second in the preseason voting. Hanover earned 82 points and three first place votes, while Transy registered 82 points and the final first place vote.
Manchester College finished fourth in the voting with 77 points and was followed by Defiance College which claimed 50 points. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (47 pts.), Bluffton University (45), College of Mount St. Joseph (33), Anderson University (25), and Earlham College (13) rounded out the poll.
Franklin placed second in the HCAC standings a year ago, finishing the 2010-11 season with a record of 19-7, 13-5 HCAC and will look to earn the title this winter. The Grizzlies lost to Transylvania in the HCAC tournament semifinals 74-59 a year ago, ending their season.
Franklin returns one All-HCAC selection, including the 2009-10 conference player of the year Sarah Condra (Nineveh, Ind./Whiteland). Condra averaged 17.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game as a junior, leading the Grizzlies in both categories. The blue and gold also return one other starter from a year ago. Junior Jessica Prewett (Washington, Ind./H.S.) contributed 6.5 points and 4.9 rebounds per game from the center position and will look to help the blue and gold win the HCAC title.
Hanover will look to repeat as HCAC champions this winter. The Panthers ran away with the conference crown last season, posting a 25-2 overall mark and a 17-1 record in league play. Hanover defeated Transylvania 82-71 in the HCAC Tournament championship game, earning a bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament. HC fell in the opening round 76-62 to Chicago. The Panthers graduated a trio of All-HCAC honorees, including the conference's player of the year Molly Martin. HC returns one starter from a year ago as Natalie Morse (Mitchell, Ind./H.S.) returns for her junior season. The junior guard averaged 6.5 points and 2.6 rebounds as a sophomore.
The Transylvania women's team finished alongside Franklin in the league standings last season, posting a 20-8 overall record and a 13-5 mark in league play. The Pioneers ended the season with an 82-71 loss to Hanover in the HCAC Tournament title game. The Pioneers graduated a pair of All-HCAC selections and will look to fill the holes left by Holly Milburn and Olivia Akridge. Transy returns one starter from last year's squad as Kennae Demus (Lexington, Ky./Lafayette) looks to lead the team in 2011-12. The senior forward averaged 7.5 points and 6.1 rebounds as a junior and also added 21 blocks in league play.
The opening games on the schedule are slated for November 15 with the first conference game scheduled for Nov. 30.
Franklin College Head Coach Kim Eiler talks about the upcoming season:
2011-12 Women's Basketball Players to Watch
Anderson: Amy Wuestefeld (Jr., G, 5-4, Batesville, Ind./H.S.), Ashley Wuestefeld (Jr., G, 5-6, Batesville, Ind./H.S.), Hannah Wickard (Sr., C, 6-0, Mina, S.D./Ipswich)
Bluffton: Brittany Stegmaier (Sr., F, 5-9, Garfield, Ohio/Trinity), Rachel Daman (Sr., G, 5-9, Defiance, Ohio/Tinora), Beth Yoder (Sr., G, 5-7, Marshallville, Ohio/Smithville), Lauren Hutton (Jr., F, 5-10, New Riegel, Ohio/H.S.), Brittany Lewis (Sr., G, 5-6, Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee)
Defiance: Brooke Zachrich (Sr., F, 5-7, Napoleon, Ohio/H.S.), Kim Comden (Jr., C, 6-0, Defiance, Ohio/Ayersville), Erica King (So., G, 5-6, Pettisville, Ohio/H.S.)
Earlham: Nikki Darrett (Sr., G, 5-6, Evansville, Ind./Bosse), Charvonne Long (Jr., F, 5-7, Edwardsville, Ill./H.S.), Bria Sneed (So., G, 5-3, Indianapolis, Ind./University), Danielle Altman (So., G/F, 5-9, Carthage, Ind./Knightstown)
Franklin: Sarah Condra (Sr., G, 5-10, Nineveh, Ind./Whiteland), Kasey Dollens (Sr., F, 5-8, Greenwood, Ind./H.S.), Krista Schott (So., F, 5-10, Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian), Jessica Prewett (Jr., C, 6-0, Washington, Ind./H.S.)
Hanover: Abbey Schmahl (Sr., G, 5-6, Aurora, Ind./South Dearborn), Sonja Bowyer (Sr., F, 5-8, Madison, Ind./Southwestern), Natalie Morse (Jr., G, 5-6, Mitchell, Ind./H.S.), Courtney Prater (Jr., C, 5-9, Anderson, Ind./Lapel)
Manchester: Kailey Honn (Sr., C, 6-1, Westfield, Ind./H.S.), Erynn Meiklejohn (So., F, 5-11, Fort Wayne, Ind./Concordia)
Mount St. Joseph: Katie Jo Collins (Sr., F, 5-11, Cincinnati, Ohio/Mercy), Courtney Cole (Sr., G, 5-7, Vevay, Ind./Switzerland Co.), Shelbi Benzinger (Jr., G, 5-6, Covington, Ky./Scott)
Rose-Hulman: Alisa Dickerson (Sr., F, 5-10, Elizabethtown, Ky./H.S.), Heather Finnell (So., G, 5-6, Decatur, Tenn./Cleveland), Kelsey Ploof (So., F, 5-11, Noblesville, Ind./H.S.), Lauren Meadows (Jr., G, 5-7, Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit)
Transylvania: Kennae Demus (Sr., F, 5-10, Lexington, Ky./Lafayette), Terra Lucas (Jr., F, 5-10, Elizabethtown, Ky./H.S.), Charli Fant (Jr., G, 5-6, Glasgow, Ky./H.S.)
