EL SEGUNDO, Calif. --- Gonzaga has been selected as the favorite to win the 2016 women's basketball league title in the annual preseason poll of the West Coast Conference's 10 head coaches. The Bulldogs claimed five of 10 first-place votes to earn the preseason favorite moniker by one point ahead of defending champion BYU.
The Pilots were picked to finish in a tie for ninth place.
Portland returns a veteran squad in 2016-17, which marks the third year for head coach Cheryl Sorenson. Sorenson, who was previously an assistant for the Pilots, assumed the reins of the program after long-time head coach Jim Sollars retired following the 2013-14 season.
Portland features a group of 10 returning letterwinners after losing just one player to graduation last season. Headlining the returners is a deep supply of guards, led by senior point guard Kaylie Van Loo. Last season Van Loo averaged 7.9 points per game and 2.7 rebounds, and she ranked fifth in the WCC in assists, handing out 3.7 dimes per contest.
Just behind Van Loo on the scoring charts is sophomore Darian Slaga, who enters her second season on The Bluff after a successful freshman campaign. Slaga ended the year on fire, averaging 12.1 points per game covering the final seven games of the season. She also shot 90.9 percent from the free throw line during that span, shot 44.9 percent from the floor and connected on 43.3 percent of her attempts from beyond the three-point arc.
Sharpshooting senior transfer Holy Blades, who buried a team-high 50 three's last year, also returns, as does the team's top returning rebounder, junior forward Ashley Gray (4.1 rpg). The Pilots will also benefit from having senior transfer Corissa Turley (6.2 ppg, 2.7 rpg) healthy after the wing missed a chunk of time due to injury last season.
Portland's three newcomers feature a pair of freshmen, guard Kate Andersen and forward Keala Quinlan, and sophomore transfer Jojuan Carrington, a forward who comes to UP from Diablo Valley JC.
Sorenson, who starred collegiately at the University of Washington and was a high school All-American at nearby Clackamas High School, is joined on the bench by third-year assistant coaches Steve Lowe and Brianna Chambers. Assistant coach Drew Muscatell returns for his second year on the Portland bench.
Gonzaga claimed 76 points in the poll to finish ahead of the 75 points earned by BYU. The Cougars earned four first-place votes after winning the first WCC regular season title in program history last year.
Saint Mary's received the other first place vote and was the preseason pick to finish third in the conference with 66 points.
San Diego and Santa Clara were picked fourth and fifth after the two teams tied for third in the standings last season. The Toreros were predicted to finish fourth with 58 while first-year head coach Bill Carr's Santa Clara Broncos were picked to finish fifth with 44 points one season after the team's best conference finish since taking second in 2007-08.
Two points separated the sixth through eighth spots on the poll. Loyola Marymount was selected sixth with 36 points, and coming in seventh with 35 points was the reigning conference tournament champion San Francisco Dons, a program that will be under the direction of a new coach in 2016-17 in Molly Goodenbour. Pacific was one point behind with 34 to take eighth in the preseason conference poll.
Pepperdine and Portland tied for ninth in the preseason poll with 13 points each.
The preseason poll and All-WCC team were selected solely by a vote of the conference's 10 head coaches.
The Pilots are set to host Willamette in an exhibition game on Tuesday night at the Chiles Center. Portland will open the regular season on the road at UC Davis on Nov. 11.
2016-17 WEST COAST CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
Team (First Place Vote), Points
1. Gonzaga (5), 76
2. BYU (4), 75
3. Saint Mary's (1), 66
4. San Diego, 58
5. Santa Clara, 44
6. Loyola Marymount, 36
7. San Francisco , 35
8. Pacific, 34
T9. Portland, 13
T9. Pepperdine, 13
2016-17 ALL-WCC PRESEASON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
Name, Institution, Yr., Pos.
Jill Barta, Gonzaga, So., F
Stella Beck, Saint Mary's, Jr., G
Marie Bertholdt, Santa Clara, Sr., F
Desire Finnie, Pacific, Jr., G
Maya Hood, San Diego, R-Sr., F
Rachel Howard, San Francisco, Sr., G
Lori Parkinson, Santa Clara, Sr., F
Makenzi Pulsipher, BYU, Sr., G
Kalani Purcell, BYU, Sr., F
Elle Tinkle, Gonzaga, R-Sr., G
