Yellow Jackets No. 7 in HCAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC) released the results of the league's women's basketball preseason coaches poll on Tuesday with Defiance ranked seventh among ten teams. After claiming the regular-season title and conference tournament with a 27-1 record, Transylvania claimed the top spot with nine first-place votes.

The 2022-23 Yellow Jackets will be led by Rod Hersha in his first year at the helm, and he inherits a team that finished 14-10 last season. The Defiance women checked in fifth in the HCAC standings with a 9-7 mark within the league.

The conference also listed Defiance seniors Nicole Sims (Camden, Ohio/Preble Shawnee) and Taylor Steinbrunner (Beavercreek, Ohio/Beavercreek) among returning players to watch along with reigning HCAC Player of the Year Lexi Dellinger from Anderson. Steinbrunner started all 24 games and led the team in scoring 12.2 points per contest and also led the way with 46 made threes. Sims started all 11 games she appeared in and scored 3.2 per game complimented by a 3.8 rebounding average.

Defiance opens the 2022-23 season on Tuesday, November 8 at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio with tipoff set for 7 p.m. 

The full results of the HCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll are listed below.

2022-23 HCAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Transylvania University (9) 81
2. Hanover College (1) 69
3. Bluffton University 61
4. Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech. 56
5. Anderson University 51
6. Franklin College 43
7. Defiance College 27
8. Manchester University 24
9. Mount St. Joseph University 23
10. Earlham College 15

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