SALEM, Va. – Guilford College’s women’s basketball team was picked second in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) preseason coaches’ poll. Results of voting conducted by the league’s 12 head coaches were announced at Thursday’s annual Media Day at the Salem Civic Center.
The two-time defending league champion Quakers received four first-place votes and collected 112 points overall. Eastern Mennonite University tops the poll with six first-place votes and 116 points. Lynchburg College earned the final two top votes and 102 total points. Virginia Wesleyan College (87) and Randolph-Macon College (77) are ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.
Guilford went 24-5 a year ago and won its second consecutive ODAC title with a 61-59 triumph over Eastern Mennonite in the 2013 league tournament final. The victory captured the ODAC’s automatic NCAA Division III Tournament berth where the Quakers made their fourth NCAA appearance. Christopher Newport University eliminated Guilford from the national tournament in the opening round, 66-47.
Coach Stephanie Flamini enters her 11th season with several key students returning for the 2013-14 campaign. The Quakers graduated three seniors last year, including point guard Brittany Atwater ’13 and forward Jaclyn Nucci ’13, both starters. Seniors Gabby Oglesby (Winston-Salem, N.C./Mount Tabor) and Morgan King are returning starters in the post. Oglesby, a 6-1 forward, enters her senior season with 1,051 career points, which ranks 13th in school history. The two-time First Team All-ODAC pick owns Guilford’s career record with 176 blocked shots. King, a 6-2 center, earned Second Team All-ODAC honors last year after averaging 10.3 points and a team-high 8.0 rebounds per game. She collected 10 or more points 14 times last year and had 10 games with at least 10 rebounds.
Senior Kayla Adams (Rural Hall, N.C./North Forsyth) and junior Brittany Drew (Greensboro, N.C./Page) split time as backcourt starters last season. Adams, a 5-6 guard, averaged 6.0 points a year ago thanks in part to her team-high 38 three-pointers. Drew, a 5-3 guard, finished third on the team with 8.1 points per game.
The Quakers open the season Nov. 16-17 as they host York College (N.Y.) and Alma College in the Marriott Invitational in Guilford’s Ragan-Brown Field House.
2013-14 ODAC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
(#) Denotes First Place Votes
1. Eastern Mennonite (6) 116 pts. 2. Guilford (4) 112 pts. 3. Lynchburg (2) 102 pts. 4. Virginia Wesleyan 87 pts. 5. Randolph-Macon 77 pts. 6. Bridgewater 67 pts. 7. Roanoke 65 pts. 8. Shenandoah 58 pts. 9. Emory & Henry 34 pts. 10. Randolph 33 pts. 11. Washington and Lee 23 pts. 12. Hollins 18 pts.