The Albion College women's basketball program has reason for optimism as the tip to the 2018-2019 season approaches.
- The Britons are coming off back-to-back 18-win seasons and they have qualified for the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament in each of those seasons
- The Britons have three student-athletes on the roster who have achieved all-MIAA distinction. Evelyn Wischmeyer, a junior guard/forward, was an all-MIAA first team pick last season, and she was joined by sophomore forward/center Rain Hinton as a second team selection. Emily Bernas, a junior guard forward, was an all-MIAA second team pick, in 2017.
- Albion is thriving under the leadership of senior captains Jami Hubbard and Brooke Schutte
"The attitude and energy have been great during the preseason," Head Coach Doreen Carden, who has achieved a 271-177 record in 17 seasons leading the Britons, said. "A lot of it is because we've come off a good year, and we return a big core of the team. Three of them are all-conference players. The fact that we have seniors, juniors and sophomores with game experience – and a lot of experience altogether – has been really nice.
"Our captains are doing a really good job," she added. "They have been bringing a word of the day as a way to bring a focus to practice. Some examples are compete, communication and energy. As we focus on that, I hope those qualities become second nature and that it leads us to a bigger goal at the end."
Albion will play five non-league games on the road – starting with a Nov. 13 date at Defiance College – before coming home Nov. 28 for a MIAA contest against Olivet College.
The Britons have three MIAA contests during the month of December, a Dec. 5 home date versus Saint Mary's College and road trips to Hope College (Dec. 8) and Kalamazoo College (Dec. 15).
The MIAA preseason poll with first place votes listed in parenthesis is listed below.
- Hope (8) 64 points
- Trine (1) 56 points
- ALBION 50 points
- Calvin 44 points
- Adrian 31 points
- Olivet 27 points
- Saint Mary's 18 points
- Alma and Kalamazoo 17 points each
Follow the Briton women's basketball team on social media
Twitter: @AlbionWBB
Instagram: albionwbb