Saint Joseph’s (Maine) Favored to Win GNAC Women’s Basketball Championship in Preseason Poll
WINTHROP, Mass. – Defending Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women’s Basketball Champion Saint Joseph’s (Maine) is once again favored to capture the conference title as they were picked atop the 2023-24 GNAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll.
The Monks earned 217 points, including eight first place votes, in this year’s voting which was conducted by the league’s 15 women’s basketball head coaches last week.
The Monks finished last year at 15-2 in conference (23-6 overall) and earned the No. 1 seed in the GNAC North Division. They cruised through the GNAC Championship Tournament, knocking off Johnson & Wales in the quarterfinals and Rivier in the semifinals. SJC would go on to defeat Emmanuel in the conference championship game. In the NCAA Tournament, the GNAC Champions fell to Scranton in the first round.
Landing in the second spot in this year’s voting was the GNAC runner-up Emmanuel, which earned 211 points and five first place votes. The Saints have also been perennial GNAC Championship contenders, making four-straight championship appearances. They also finished 15-2 in conference (22-6 overall) and were the No. 2 seed in the North Division.
Albertus Magnus was the last team to receive first place votes, earning the final two, contributing to their 198-point total. Rounding out the top five in this year’s voting were the University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) and Rivier, which earned 172 and 159 points, respectively.
Regis and Norwich finished sixth and seventh in the voting with respective, 148- and 118-point totals. Newcomers to the conference, Mitchell and New England College, are projected to place eighth and ninth this season as they earned 100 and 99 points, respectively. Rounding out the top-10 was Johnson & Wales with 88 points.
Closing out the poll in order were Lasell (83 points), Colby-Sawyer (79), Anna Maria (58), Elms (53), and Dean (17).
The 2023-24 women’s basketball season begins on Wednesday, Nov. 8 with teams kicking off their non-conference slates. Teams then begin their conference slates on Saturday, Dec. 2. The GNAC schedule features a 14-game single round robin conference season with the top-10 teams at the end of the regular season earning berths into the 2024 GNAC Women’s Basketball Championship Tournament. The postseason starts with a Play-In Round featuring the bottom four tournament seeds on Monday, Feb. 19 with those winners advancing to the GNAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 20. Following the quarterfinals, the remaining four teams will play in the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 22 with the tournament culminating in the GNAC Championship game on Saturday, Feb. 24. The winner of the championship game will be named 2023-24 GNAC Women’s Basketball Champion and earn the league’s automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Women’s Basketball Championship.
2023-24 GNAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
| 1. | Saint Joseph's (Maine) | 217 (8 First Place Votes) |
| 2. | Emmanuel | 211 (5) |
| 3. | Albertus Magnus | 198 (2) |
| 4. | University of Saint Joseph (Conn.) | 172 |
| 5. | Rivier | 159 |
| 6. | Regis | 148 |
| 7. | Norwich | 118 |
| 8. | Mitchell | 100 |
| 9. | New England College | 99 |
| 10. | Johnson & Wales | 88 |
| 11. | Lasell | 83 |
| 12. | Colby-Sawyer | 79 |
| 13. | Anna Maria | 58 |
| 14. | Elms | 53 |
| 15. | Dean | 17 |
ABOUT THE GREAT NORTHEAST ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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