#HLWBB League Preview
By Joey Yashinsky, Horizon League Contributor. Follow on Twitter @OneSeatOver
There are 32 different conferences in Division I women’s college basketball. In 2017-18, the Horizon League women made up the 13th strongest of those groups, an excellent overall year for the conference in which every victory was hard-earned through 40 minutes of physical play.
Five of the 10 Horizon League teams advanced to postseason play, sending representatives to the NCAA Tournament, the NIT, and the WBI. The Mid-Major Top 25 was dotted with several Horizon League teams throughout the season.
The best of the bunch? For the 20th consecutive year, it was the Green Bay Phoenix.
Spurred on by the nation’s leading defense (47.4 PPG), Kevin Borseth’s squad raced to a 16-2 conference mark. For the second straight season, the Phoenix went 9-0 in Horizon League play at the loud and intimidating Kress Center. The last time Green Bay got stung on its home floor in conference was nearly three years ago; January 28, 2016, in a narrow two-point defeat at the hands of Oakland.
The Phoenix enter the 2018-19 season having received 28 of 29 preseason first-place votes, but it’ll be no small task to replace the production of all-league performers Jessica Lindstrom and Allie LeClaire. The loss of guard Caitlyn Hibner to a torn UCL further bites into the Green Bay depth.
But in no way is Borseth’s cupboard bare.
He returns the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in Jen Wellnitz, a heavy favorite to capture the award again. Karly Murphy is back, looking to turn her all-freshman status of a year ago into an all-conference honor as a sophomore.
Frankie Wurtz will see more opportunities on offense this year and has the all-around game to take advantage. 6-foot-1 forward Carly Mohns arrives from Iowa for her final collegiate season and will team with the Wolf twins, Madison and Mackenzie, to give Green Bay a powerful inside attack.
Austin Parkinson’s IUPUI Jaguars clawed their way to a superb 13-5 conference mark in their Horizon League debut and a second-place finish. The Jags ranked third in the conference in scoring (68.8 PPG) and second in defense (58.0 PPG), the only Horizon League squad to grab top-3 status in both categories.
IUPUI will undoubtedly miss the services of all-time Jaguar great Danielle Lawrence and her 17-point scoring average. But the interior for the Jaguars looks very healthy with Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year Macee Williams returning after a fantastic freshman campaign. She’ll pair with top-flight defender Tamya Sims to give Parkinson one of the league’s best frontcourts, along with newcomer Katelyn O’Reilly, a versatile 6-foot forward coming over from Florida Atlantic.
Sydney Hall and Holly Hoopingarner combined to sink 83 triples a year ago, and Parkinson expects both to shoot the ball much better this season.
Be careful when the Jaguars come to your gym this January or February. IUPUI was near-unbeatable away from home last season, losing just once in nine Horizon League road games.
Katrina Merriweather and the Wright State Raiders will be a major factor once again. Led by Preseason All-Horizon League first-team selection Emily Vogelpohl, the Raiders will be loaded with quality guard play in 2018-19. Vogelpohl will be joined by fellow seniors Mackenzie Taylor and Symone Simmons. Taylor is a dynamite 3-point shooter and Simmons might be the best rebounding guard in the country. Vogelpohl is a fearsome defender and oozes with experience after logging 95 starts in her first three seasons.
Xavier transfer Imani Partlow will be a key player on the Raiders’ interior, hoping to replace some of the league-leading 136 offensive boards collected by Lexi Smith. Emerging 6-foot-4 sophomore Tyler Frierson will further bolster Wright State’s post presence.
Keep an eye out for true freshman point guard Angel Baker, a future star in the Horizon League and a candidate for top rookie honors this season.
The Penguins of Youngstown State are looking to improve upon a strong 11-7 conference mark and grab their first ever piece of a Horizon League championship. The Penguins captured five consecutive regular season titles in the Summit League from 1995-1999, but have yet to conquer the Horizon. This could be the year to do it.
Coach John Barnes brings back senior forward Sarah Cash, a Preseason All-Conference first-teamer and one of the most dynamic players in the midwest. Cash has battled through injuries during her time as a Penguin and now looks to cap her career with a bang. Fellow senior Alison Smolinski has been bitten by the injury bug as well, but she’s healthy entering 2018-19 and will be one of the most dangerous long-range shooters in the conference.
Guard Chelsea Olson was outstanding as a freshman and enters this season as a second-team All-League pick. McKenah Peters is also coming off a strong freshman year. They’ll look to keep the Penguins on top of the Horizon League in 3-point shooting. They drilled 276 triples as a team last year, best in the conference by a wide margin.
Junior Mary Dunn and newcomer Madison Mallory gives Barnes plenty of options in the frontcourt. Mallory hopes to duplicate Dunn’s Freshman of the Year performance from two seasons prior.
Kyle Rechlicz and the Milwaukee Panthers were voted fifth in the preseason Horizon League poll as they try to replace a highly decorated senior class of Steph Kostowicz, Jenny Lindner, Bailey Farley and Kelsey Cunningham.
Junior guard Jamie Reit finished last season with a flourish and will be one of Milwaukee’s primary offensive options this winter. Reit started 30 games and racked up a team-high 21 points in an opening-round WNIT victory over Northern Iowa, hopefully a sign of things to come for Milwaukee fans. Joining Reit in the backcourt will be sophomore point guard McKaela Schmelzer, who was just voted to the Horizon League’s All-Tournament team at the conference’s soccer championship, where Milwaukee triumphed over Cleveland State in a thrilling 1-0 final.
Lizzie Odegard and Brandi Bisping return to bolster Milwaukee’s frontcourt, while 6-foot-2 freshman Megan Walstad should see key minutes at the outset. Fellow newcomer Bre Cera, a sophomore transfer from Iowa, will be a solid addition to Rechlicz’s rotation.
The Northern Kentucky Norse are one of the fastest-rising programs in the Horizon League. Camryn Whitaker has a stable full of ultra-talented freshmen and sophomores, to go with seasoned veterans Molly Glick and Taryn Taugher. Glick was recently named to the Preseason All-Horizon League first team after a return to top form in 2017-18 following a back injury.
Kailey Coffey, Grayson Rose, Jazmyne Geist, Samari Mowbray and Grace White all played important minutes for the Norse as freshmen. Northern Kentucky fans are hoping that valuable experience leads to multiple breakout campaigns in year two.
The Norse took down Green Bay last year, a giant win for Whitaker’s program. To prove that was no fluke, Glick and company also led Green Bay at the half of their Motor City Madness quarterfinal, before the Phoenix pulled away in the final quarter for a 13-point win.
Taylor Jones will hop into the starting lineup for the Oakland Golden Grizzlies this season after back-to-back Sixth Player of the Year awards. She was named to the Preseason All-League second team and she’ll need to be at her best to make up for the loss of five key seniors, including double-digit scorers Sha’Keya Graves, Taylor Gleason, Leah Somerfield and Cierra Bond.
Jeff Tungate’s team shot the highest percentage from 3 of any team in the Horizon League last season on the way to being the conference’s second-most prolific offense. To keep up that pace, they’ll look to Alabama transfer Lakyesha Stennis to knock down plenty of shots from the perimeter. Sophomore guard Myka Cromwell also expects to see a larger role in 2018-19, and will compete for minutes at the guard spot with exciting freshmen Kahlaijah Dean and Brianna Breedy.
Redshirt junior Nikita Telesford leads a promising group of inside players, along with sophomores Autumn Kissman and Chloe Guingrich, and 6-foot freshman Kayla Luchenbach, a player Tungate expects to contribute early and often.
Cleveland State welcomes in new head coach Chris Kielsmeier after Kate Peterson Abiad stepped down following 15 years at the helm. It won’t be easy as he inherits a roster missing the second and third-leading scorers from last year’s Horizon League leaderboard in Ashanti Abshaw (19.2 PPG) and Khayla Livingston (17.2 PPG).
Junior guards Jade Ely and Mariah Miller combined to make 27 starts last season and will be key factors to the Viking attack. Ely can score in a variety of ways and Miller provides support on the glass as an excellent rebounding guard.
Forward Rachel Slaney and guard Mariana Bautista are Cleveland State’s two seniors and will help to bring along an exciting crop of five freshmen joining the program.
Bernard Scott led Detroit Mercy to the Horizon League championship game two seasons ago and hopes to return his Titans to the upper half of the conference.
All-Freshman performer Lexey Tobel is back in the red, white and blue to headline the Titans’ arsenal. In an exhibition win on Saturday night, Tobel popped for a game-high 21 points as well as the game-winning basket with just over a second remaining. Her 8.0 PPG from 2018-19 could easily jump to the mid-teens as a sophomore.
Senior point guard Brittney Jackson is an integral piece to Scott’s preferred up-tempo style. Her experience will also help in the progression of talented redshirt freshman guard Kayla Brown.
The Titans are led in the frontcourt by 5-foot-11 junior Ashley Miller. Freshmen Paige Bellman and Alex Burr could also get key minutes in their rookie campaigns, both showing plenty of potential in the preseason. Junior Zoey Oatis contributes in a number of ways and will be an important part of Scott’s rotation.
The UIC Flames are one of only three Horizon League teams to have multiple players as Preseason All-Conference selections, along with IUPUI and Youngstown State. Brittany Byrd and Taylor Toney, both senior guards, were voted to the All-League second team, giving new head coach Tasha Pointer one of the country’s most experienced backcourt tandems.
Byrd paced the Flames in scoring each of the last two seasons while Toney led last year’s club in assists. Fellow senior guard Catera Etheridge further adds to the Flames’ veteran experience. Sophomore Tia Tedford showed flashes as a freshman and could be on the verge of a breakout sophomore campaign. Junior Tylah Lampley is one of the Horizon League’s most electric athletes.
The Horizon League women’s basketball season in 2017-18 was full of deep rosters and fierce competition. Some of those familiar faces and high scorers have graduated, but they will surely be replaced by the next batch of Horizon League standouts.
Can Green Bay make it 21 consecutive regular season championships?
Or will IUPUI crash the party in just its second year in the league?
Northern Kentucky comes in ranked sixth in the preseason conference polls, but is that too low for a roster overflowing with young talent?
The next four months will produce countless nights of top flight basketball in the Horizon League.
You won’t want to miss it.