Oct. 10, 2000

NKU PRESEASON FAVORITE TO WIN GLVC

Defending national champion Norse picked as huge favorite

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - If the Great Lakes Valley Conference women’s basketball coaches are correct, the battle is for second place in the 2000-01 GLVC race. Never has there been a bigger favorite to capture the conference crown than defending NCAA Division II national champion Northern Kentucky (32-2 last season). And for good reason. The Norse return their top nine players and are a clear consensus choice not only to defend their regular-season and conference tournament titles but their national championship as well. NKU won its league games by an average of 17.2 points last season and should be better this time around. NKU’s top challengers could be any of three different squads. The coaches pick Southern Illinois at Edwardsville (18-9) second, Bellarmine (18-10) third and Southern Indiana (15-12) fourth. Any of the three could emerge as NCAA hopefuls. Missouri-St. Louis, which posted a 19-11 record and earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament last season, is picked to finish fifth after losing four starters. The fourth annual GLVC Tournament is scheduled for February 28-March 3 at Roberts Stadium in Evansville, Ind. 2000-01 GLVC Preseason Women’s Basketball Poll 1. Northern Kentucky (11) 2. SIU Edwardsville (1) 3. Bellarmine 4. Southern Indiana 5. Missouri-St. Louis 6. Indianapolis 7. Lewis 8. *IPFW 9. UW-Parkside 9. Kentucky Wesleyan 11. Quincy 12. Saint Joseph’s *not eligible for conference championship