Women's basketball picked ninth in HCAC preseason poll

CARMEL, Ind. –  In a vote of league coaches, the Defiance women's basketball team was selected to finish ninth in the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference for the upcoming season.

Transylvania University placed first with 95 points and six first-place votes followed by Hanover College with 86 points and a pair of first-pace votes. Mount St. Joseph University (70 points) and Franklin College (66 points) each received a first-place vote as well. Bluffton University rounds out the top five with 65 points.

The Yellow Jackets had five players named to the Players to Watch list. A trio of seniors in Taylor Day, Briawna Francis, and Nysha Speed earned the recognization along with junior duo Nicole Sims and Taylor Steinbrunner. 

Day started all 11 games last season, averaging 7.6 points along with leading the team with 14 steals and finishing second in rebounds with 41. Francis appeared in 10 games and recorded 12 points, 16 rebounds, three steals, and two assists. Speed played in nine games last season and recorded 39 rebounds, five steals, and two assists while averaging 5.2 points per game. 

Sims started all 11 games and averaged 5.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and also had a team-high 34 assists. Steinbrunner played in five games and started two. She scored 11 points, averaging 2.2 per game, and recorded four rebounds and three steals.

The Yellow Jackets are led by fourth-year head coach Allan King Jr. and will open the season at home against Adrian on Monday, November 8 at 7:30 p.m.