2018-19 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
| 2018 PacWest Women’s Basketball Poll |
| 1. |
Azusa Pacific (8) |
139 |
| 2. |
Hawai`i Pacific (3) |
128 |
| 3. |
Dominican (1) |
112 |
| 4. |
Point Loma |
110 |
| 5. |
Concordia |
99 |
| 6. |
Biola |
74 |
| 7. |
Fresno Pacific |
73 |
| 8. |
Academy of Art |
62 |
| 9. |
Hawai`i Hilo |
43 |
| 10. |
Chaminade |
38 |
| 11. |
Notre Dame de Namur |
37 |
| 12. |
Holy Names |
21 |
| First-place votes in parenthesis |
IRVINE, Calif. – After finishing in a tie for first place last year, Azusa Pacific is selected as the PacWest Preseason Favorite for the 2018-19 women’s basketball season by the PacWest coaches.
Dominican’s
Natalie Diaz was picked as the PacWest Preseason Player of the Year after being named Co-Player of the Year in her junior season. Dominican is picked third in the poll behind Hawai`i Pacific, which earned three first-place votes.
Azusa Pacific went 18-2 in conference play last year to finish in a tie for first place with Hawai`i Pacific as the Cougars earned the right to host the NCAA West Regional. Azusa Pacific returns two of last year's starters,
Zoe March and
Savanna Hanson, who were both selected to the Preseason All-PacWest Team.
Hanson was the PacWest Newcomer of the Year last year after averaging 13.9 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. March was the national leader in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.4, helping Azusa Pacific win 90 percent of its regular season contests.
The The defending PacWest Tournament Champion Hawai`i Pacific is picked second in the preseason poll. The Sharks went into the NCAA West Regional as the No. 2 seed with a 26-3 record, including a perfect 12-0 mark in away games. The Sharks return three starters from last year’s team as well as Preseason All-PacWest selection
Breanna Mackenzie.
Mackenzie missed the 2017-18 season after being the Sharks’ leading scorer the previous year. The Melbourne, Australia native averaged 12.0 points and 5.7 rebounds with a team-high 48 steals in her junior season. The Sharks also return three players that were All-PacWest third-team selections last year in
Samantha Lambrigtsen,
Alysha Marcucci and
Janessa Manzano.
Dominican, which will host the 2019 PacWest Basketball Tournament, is picked third in the PacWest after finishing in a tie for sixth place last year. The Penguins started the year with a 10-2 record and rediscovered that level of play at the PacWest Tournament, where they defeated No. 3 seed and defending champion California Baptist.
Natalie Diaz was the PacWest Co-Player of the Year and is back on the Penguins’ roster for the 2018-19 season.
Last year, Diaz ranked third in the nation in scoring with 24.1 points per game to go along with 8.9 rebounds. Diaz tallied 15 double-doubles on the season as she scored a PacWest record 285 field goals. The Penguins also return three other starters with
Vanessa Cruz,
Alanna Scott and
Anjelica Collins set to play for the 2018-19 season.
Point Loma finished in fifth place last year and is picked to take fourth place this year. The Sea Lions lose Co-PacWest Player of the Year Roya Rustamzada, but return
Sydney Peterson,
Cara Liggins and
Grace Brady, who all played a key role as freshmen in the Sea Lions’ run to the PacWest Championship game.
Concordia is picked fifth in the preseason poll and returns last year’s PacWest Freshman of the Year
Michaela Vanderklugt. As a freshman, Vanderklugt averaged 15.3 points and 8.1 rebounds with a team-leading 34 steals. She helped the Eagles to a 16-11 overall record as they advanced to the PacWest Tournament.
Biola is picked sixth in the preseason poll followed by Fresno Pacific, which narrowly missed out on the PacWest Tournament last year. 2014 PacWest Champion Academy of Art is picked eighth in the poll ahead of Hawai`i Hilo at No. 9.
Chaminade is picked 10th in the poll and returns
Destiny Castro to the roster. Castro is a two-time All-PacWest selection after she averaged 17.3 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists last year. She also had 69 steals and 10 blocks to help the Silverswords win two games last year. Notre Dame de Namur and Holy Names round out the preseason poll at 11th and 12th.
The 2018-19 women’s basketball season will begin on Friday, November 9 with eight teams in action, including Point Loma playing at Cal Poly Pomona, which was picked No. 5 in the D2SIDA Preseason Regional Rankings. Azusa Pacific was picked third in the region and will play against the Broncos on Saturday night. Fresno Pacific will begin the season with a pair of tough road contests against Seattle Pacific and Western Washington.
The conference season begins on November 29 when Concordia visits Dominican in a contest featuring two of the top five teams in the preseason poll. Dominican will host the PacWest Tournament, which will feature the top six teams in the PacWest, beginning on March 7. The Championship will be played on March 9.
| 2018-19 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM |
| Name |
School |
Pos. |
Yr. |
Hometown/Previous School |
| Destiny Castro |
Chaminade |
G |
Jr. |
Talofofo, Guam / Notre Dame |
| Natalie Diaz |
Dominican |
G |
Sr. |
Soquel, Calif. / Soquel HS |
| Savanna Hanson |
Azusa Pacific |
G |
Jr. |
Edmonds, Wash. / Santa Clara |
| Breanna Mackenzie |
Hawai’i Pacific |
G |
Sr. |
Melbourne, VIC, Australia / Box Hill |
| Zoe March |
Azusa Pacific |
G |
Jr. |
Reedley, Calif. / Immanuel HS |
| Michaela Vanderklugt |
Concordia |
F |
So. |
Antioch, Calif. / Carondelet HS |