The UW-La Crosse women's basketball team has been picked to finish second in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference this season in a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors, announced Friday. UW-Oshkosh was picked first, ahead of UWL, UW-Whitewater, UW-Platteville, UW-River Falls, UW-Eau Claire, UW-Stevens Point and UW-Stout Polytechnic.
The Eagles return three starters — senior Grace Knupp, junior Molly Janke and sophomore Jenna Welsch — who were three of the team's top four scorers last season. Knupp, an honorable mention all-conference pick, led UWL at 10.3 points per game while also leading the team in assists and steals. Janke, a first-team all-conference pick, led the team in rebounding at 8.1 per game and scored 10.1 per game.
UWL finished 21-10 overall and 9-5 in the WIAC last season under head coach Moran Lonning, now starting her fourth season. The Eagles won the program's first WIAC Tournament title, beating top-seeded UW-Oshkosh 52-49 to earn the conference's automatic NCAA bid.
In the national tournament, UWL beat LaGrange and Carroll, then beat Southern Maine to reach the program's first Elite Eight before falling to top-seeded New York University 72-47. Both national preseason polls rank the Eagles this year, at 14th by D3hoops.com and 19th by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
UWL plays its first official game Nov. 11 at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and its home opener Nov. 14 against Saint Mary's of Minnesota. The 14-game WIAC schedule begins Jan. 2, and the six-team WIAC Tournament is set for Feb. 23, 25 and 27 at the higher seeds.
