Winning the 2021-22 Pacific West Conference regular season title, the conference tournament and a first round NCAA tournament game provides plenty of headlines, trophies, banners and accolades.

For the Azusa Pacific women’s basketball team, it’s also enough to earn another honor before the opening tip of the 2022-23 season. The Cougars, based on the opinions of the league’s coaches, are the overwhelming preseason favorite to win the PacWest championship again.

APU, guided by veteran coach TJ Hardemann (16^th season), garnered nine of the 11 first place votes and tallied 119 voting points. A distant second behind the Cougars was Dominican (94 points), followed by Concordia (91), Biola (83) and Point Loma (82) to round out the top five.

Additionally, stand out guard Paige Uyehara was the runaway choice as the PacWest Conference Preseason Player of the Year. A 5-foot-7 junior guard, Uyehara led APU in scoring as a sophomore (13.4) and paced the PacWest in assists with 5.1 per game. The all-around standout shot 73 percent from the free throw line, had 69 steals and nailed 48 shots from beyond the arch.

Uyehara was a First Team All-PacWest pick last year, one season after averaging nearly 13 points a game as a freshman. Never shy in big moments, the San Jose native drained a three-pointer as time expired in the opening round of the NCAA tournament, sending her team to overtime and an eventual victory over Cal State San Marcos.

Uyehara is joined on the All-PacWest Preseason Team by Cougar teammate Alex Lowden, Concordia’s Jasmine Rachal and Katie Timmerman, Hawai`i Hilo’s Mandi Kawaha, and Academy of Art’s Alisha Wilson.

The Cougars are tabbed No. 1 despite graduating two of the top players in the conference in Laura Pranger (PacWest Defensive Player of the Year) and Kayla Shaw (First Team). But the cupboard is far from bare. In addition to Uyehara and Lowden (Third Team All-PacWest), Hardemann also welcomes back Molly Whitmore, a Third Team All-PacWest selection. Lowden, the 2020-21 PacWest Defensive Player of the Year, averaged 7.6 points and 7.1 rebounds a game, while Whitmore contributed 11.8 points and 6.7 boards a contest.

APU finished 25-4 last year, the fourth straight season that the Cougars have won 25 or more games. They captured the PacWest regular season title with a 17-2 mark, and pushed their season to the semifinals of the NCAA West Regionals before falling to Cal State East Bay.

Dominican edged Concordia for the second spot in the preseason poll. The Penguins finished second in the PacWest last season with a 15-5 record and return Second Team All-PacWest selection Brittany Cedeno, who averaged ten points, eight rebounds and five assists a contest. Head coach Tim LaKose also has sophomore Aliyah San Jose, who averaged 10.4 points per game as a freshman returns. The Penguins will have to figure out a way to compensate for the loss of one of best players in the region in Riley Friauf, who put up 20.7 points and 9.6 rebounds a game.

Just behind Dominican in the poll is Concordia. The Golden Eagles had two players on the preseason team in Rachal and Timmerman. Rachal averaged 16.3 points and has over 1,000 points in her career and Timmerman put up 12.3, giving head coach Christine Collins-Kiernan immediate scoring to lean on. But like the Penguins, the Golden Eagles will need to pick up the slack left by a great player in the graduated Michaela VanderKlugt, the D2SIDA West Region Player of the Year. She scored 2,103 points and grabbed 1,157 rebounds in her decorated five years. Collins-Kiernan also returns starters Savannah Felix-Amoros and Sierra Clark, and via the transfer route gained three more experienced Division II players in Stephanie Lee (Biola), Teagan Thurman (Northwest Nazarene) and Caylee Santos (Cal State LA). Lee averaged 12 points a game last year, and Thurman (6-1) was NNU’s leading scorer (12.4) and rebounder (7.0).

Biola (fourth in poll with 83 points) just edged Point Loma (82). The Eagles, under eight-year leader Alan Nakamura, return three starters in Laila Walker, Aysia Johnson, and Jordan Rabe. Rabe averaged 9.3 points and 6.9 boards a contest and Walker dished out 3.5 assists. Gone are the aforementioned Lee (to Concordia) and Amiah Simmons (17.4 ppg, graduated) from a Biola team that finished 18-11 last year and 13-7 in the PacWest.

Point Loma has four returning starters in Ellie Turk (8 ppg), Haylee Saurette (11.8 ppg/7.1 reb.), Annika Thayer (8.2 ppg/6.1 reb.) and Alix Henderson (8.5 ppg). The Sea Lions, who as the No. 7 seed in the PacWest tournament last year knocked off No. 2 Dominican, lost key components Cara Liggins, Isabel Turk and Sydney Peterson. But second-year head coach Charity Elliott landed Hawai`i Pacific transfer Tavia Powell (17 points a game) and 6-3 Division I standout Katie Scott. Scott averaged 13 points a game last season at Oral Roberts, but prior to that was the Western Athletic Conference Freshman and Newcomer of the Year at Grand Canyon. She was a First-Team All-WAC pick.

Academy of Art, who reached the PacWest tournament championship game and was selected to the NCAA tournament, earned one first place vote this year and 66 total points (sixth place). Preseason All-PacWest pick Alisha Wilson (6-1) led the PacWest as a freshman with 10.3 rebounds per game and she was second in blocked shots (1.6 per contest). First-year head coach Lindsey Foster also welcomes back 2021-22 Third Team All-PacWest pick Lauryn Manns (9.3 ppg) and 6-4 center Christy Ojide.

Fresno Pacific and Hawai`i Hilo tied for seventh in the coaches poll. The Vulcans return one of the top players in the conference in point guard Mandi Kawaha, who has been a four-year starter. Last season, the local Hilo product averaged 16 points a contest was a First Team All-PacWest selection. Head coach David Kaneshiro, the PacWest Coach of the Year in 2021-22, also has experience returning in Bree Olson, Mindy Kawaha and Jenna Waki. Additionally, three-year Utah State standout Kamalu Kamakawio‘ole will bolster the ranks.

Fresno Pacific and head coach Tim Beauregard had 14 returnees and five starters back. Anisa Rillo, Felicia Dourva, Sara Lundqvist, Maesyn Rix, and Rachel Berry (2020 NorCal Pod team) give the Sunbirds plenty of experience. Cal State Bakersfield transfer Aaliyah Seuell will also help for a FPU team that made the PacWest tournament last year before getting ousted by eventual champion Azusa Pacific.

Hawai`i Pacific won PacWest titles in 2018, 2020 and 2021, running the table with a 22-0 record in 2020. But the Sharks are starting over under first-year coach Katie Novak, who will rely on the experience of senior guard Avery Cargill (11.5 ppg). Haley Masaki and Allison Ross also return as starters for Novak and the Sharks.

Chaminade also has a new coach in Michael Edwards. Edwards has eight returnees including 2021-22 starters Dallas Martinez and Lile Hina Oyama. Holy Names has the fourth first-year coach in the PacWest this season as Aniya Baker takes over the Hawks program. Returning to Holy Names for the 2022-23 year are starters Jayden Benitez (PG, Senior), Jazmine Soto (Guard, Soph.), Samantha Zambrano (Guard, Senior), and Raegan Farrington (F/C, Sophomore).

All eleven PacWest teams will tip off their seasons on opening weekend (Nov. 11-13), all with crossover games against teams from the Great Northwest Athletic Conference and the California Collegiate Athletic Association. The first PacWest contest will be on Nov. 29 when Hawai`i Pacific and Chaminade square off, followed by a full slate of conference counters on Dec. 1.
 

2022-23 PRESEASON ALL-PACWEST WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM
Name	School	Pos.	Yr.	Hometown
Paige Uyehara*	Azusa Pacific	G	Jr.	San Jose, Calif.
Jasmine Rachal	Concordia	G	Jr.	Brea, Calif.
Mandi Kawaha	Hawai`i Hilo	G	Sr.	Hilo, Hawai`i
Alex Lowden	Azusa Pacific	G	Sr.	Glendora, Calif.
Alisha Wilson	Academy of Art	F/C	So.	Pomona, Calif.
Katie Timmerman	Concordia	G	Jr.	Torrance, Calif.

*2022-23 PacWest Preseason Player of the Year