Women’s Basketball Selected Eighth in Heart Preseason Poll

2023-24 Heart Preseason Poll

BALDWIN CITY, Kan. – After reaching the conference tournament last year, Baker women's basketball was picked to finish eighth this season as the league revealed the 2023-24 Heart Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll on Wednesday afternoon.

Baker earned 68 votes to round out a top eight that featured projected frontrunner Central Methodist (139), Clarke (127), MidAmerica Nazarene (127) and Grand View (116) in the top four, while Culver-Stockton (89), Benedictine (84) and Missouri Valley (81) sit ahead of the Wildcats in spots No. 5-7.

In their first year under head coach Torie Murillo, the Wildcats went 13-15 overall to total their most wins in a season since 2018-19. They went 9-13 in conference play and reached the 2022-23 Heart Tournament as the No. 8 seed.

BU returns three all-conference selections from last year's squad in Sophia Barrett (Jr., Cedar Rapids, Iowa), Emma Cunningham (Sr., Andover, Kan.) and Leah Van Weelden (Sr., Marion, Iowa). Barrett was named to the league's second team, while Cunningham and Van Weelden earned honorable mention honors.

The Wildcats open the season on the road at Baptist Bible on Friday, Oct. 27 at 5:30 p.m. in Springfield, Mo. They will make their home debut on Nov. 15 with a conference matchup against Benedictine starting at 5:30 p.m. inside Collins Gym.

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