Green Bay Voted #HLWBB Favorite, IUPUI’s Williams Tabbed Preseason Player of the Year
Rachel White
INDIANAPOLIS - After winning the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship and its 20th straight regular season title last season, Green Bay has been voted the preseason favorite to capture the 2018-19 Horizon League women’s basketball championship. IUPUI sophomore Macee Williams was tabbed the Preseason Player of the Year in voting by the League’s coaches, media and sports information directors.
Williams was voted Preseason Player of the Year following a freshman campaign in 2017-18 where the Indiana native earned Freshman of the Year and All-League Second Team honors. Williams averaged 13.8 points and 7.6 rebounds during League play, helping the Jags to a second -place finish in their inaugural season in the League. The forward/center also paced the Horizon League in field goal percentage, shooting 65 percent in League competition.
Green Bay received 28 of the 29 first-place votes cast to finish with 286 points and secure the top spot in the poll. The Phoenix return three starters from last season’s squad that reached their fourth consecutive NCAA tournament. The Phoenix are led by last year’s Defensive Player of the Year and Motor City Madness All-Tournament selection Jen Wellnitz (2.5 steals and 4.4 assists), a member of the Preseason First Team, and 2017-18 All-Freshman selection Karly Murphy (8.1 points and 4.2 rebounds). Green Bay also adds Iowa graduate-transfer Carly Mohns to the roster in 2018-19.
Joining Williams and Wellnitz on the Preseason First Team are Wright State’s Emily Vogelpohl, Northern Kentucky’s Molly Glick, and Youngstown State’s Sarah Cash. Vogelpohl was an All-Defensive Team selection as a junior after putting up 2.5 steals in 2017-18 and averaging 10.8 points as a member of the League’s highest-scoring offense. Glick led the Norse with 12.4 points last season, adding 4.4 rebounds, and playing nearly 32 minutes a game for NKU. Cash put up 11.6 points and hauled in 4.5 boards last season for the Penguins, helping YSU earn the number five seed at Motor City Madness and advance to the semifinals.
The second team features four seniors and one sophomore from four League institutions. UIC senior duo Brittany Byrd and Taylor Toney are joined by 2017-18 Sixth Player of the Year Taylor Jones of Oakland, All-Freshman selection YSU’s Chelsea Olson, and IUPUI redshirt-senior Tamya Sims.
Byrd ranked sixth in the League in scoring last season, putting up 14.8 points, while teammate Toney ranked ninth with 13.7 points. Jones earned Sixth Player of the Year honors, posting 11.2 points in 22.4 minutes of action. Olson earned four Freshman of the Week awards during her rookie campaign for the Penguins, scoring 10.1 points in League play, adding 2.3 assists in those contests. Sims recorded 10.7 points and 5.6 rebounds last season for the Jaguars.
Coming in second in the preseason poll with 245 total points is last year’s Motor City Madness two-seed IUPUI. The Jags return Preseason selections Williams and Sims, as well as guards Holly Hoopingarner and Sydney Hall. In third place is tournament runner-up WSU (226 points). The Raiders lost Horizon League Player of the Year Chelsea Welch, but return Preseason honoree Vogelpohl, along with fellow seniors Mackenzie Taylor and Symone Simmons.
Youngstown State is fourth in the preseason poll with 184 points, including one first-place vote. The Penguins are led by preseason selections Olson and Cash. Milwaukee earned the fifth spot in the poll with 165 points. The Panthers lost two All-League selections, Jenny Lindner and Steph Kostowicz to graduation but add Iowa transfer Bre Cera and return starters Jamie Reit and McKaela Schmelzer, also a member of the Panthers’ women’s soccer team, in 2018-19.
In sixth place in the poll is Northern Kentucky. The Norse finished eighth in the League last season, but return all but one player from that young team. NKU is led by Glick and All-Freshman team member Kailey Coffey. Oakland came in seventh place in the poll, mirroring the Golden Grizzlies’ finish in 2017-18. Oakland adds Alabama transfer Lakyesha Stennis to the roster this season.
Cleveland State is eighth in the preseason poll under new head coach Chris Kielsmeier. The Vikings return just one starter, junior guard Jade Ely from last season. Detroit Mercy came in ninth in the poll, returning All-Freshman selection Lexey Tobel. Rounding out the poll is UIC. Under new head coach Tasha Pointer, the Flames will lean on Toney and Byrd to lead the way.
The regular season tips off on Tuesday, November, with seven teams in action. Horizon League play begins on Fri., December 28, with all ten teams hitting the court. Motor City Madness will start with quarterfinal action on March 5-6 with highest seeds hosting and will culminate with the semifinal and championship games on March 11-12 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.
2018-19 #HLWBB Preseason Poll Results
Pl. School (1st-place) – Votes
1. Green Bay (28) – 286
2. IUPUI – 245
3. Wright State – 226
4. Youngstown State (1) – 184
5. Milwaukee – 165
6. Northern Kentucky – 152
7. Oakland – 117
8. Cleveland State – 99
9. Detroit Mercy – 65
10. UIC – 56
Preseason Player of the Year
Macee Williams, IUPUI
First Team (alphabetical order by school)
Jen Wellnitz, Green Bay
Macee Williams, IUPUI
Molly Glick, Northern Kentucky
Emily Vogelpohl, Wright State
Sarah Cash, Youngstown State
Second Team (alphabetical order by school)
Tamya Sims, IUPUI
Taylor Jones, Oakland
Brittany Byrd, UIC
Taylor Toney, UIC
Chelsea Olson, Youngstown State