Holland Reporter

The Grand Valley State University (GVSU) women's basketball team has been ranked first in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll. The announcement was made by the league office earlier today. Rylie Bisballe received recognition as the conference Preseason Player of the Year, while Nicole Kamin secured a position on the preseason First-Team All-GLIAC.

GVSU garnered 10 first-place votes, achieving a total of 100 points to claim the top spot. Ferris State followed in second place with one first-place vote, and Northern Michigan placed third. Parkside and Michigan Tech completed the top five rankings. Wayne State was positioned sixth, SVSU seventh, Purdue Northwest eighth, Davenport ninth, GLIAC newcomer Roosevelt was ranked 10th, and LSSU concluded the poll in 11th place.

The Lakers are coming off their third consecutive regular season championship and their second straight tournament championship. Last year they achieved a record of 31-3 and return nearly their entire rotation for this season. Key players from last season include Bisballe, Kamin, Abrie Cabana, Lexi Plitzuweit, Hadley Miller, and Ellie Droste—all started over 16 games last year. Returning reserves include Paige Vanstee, Molly Anderson, Avery Zeinstra, and Megan Crow. Earlier this week, GVSU was voted as the number three team nationally by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

Bisballe had an impressive previous season being named both GLIAC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year while also earning All-American honors. She averaged 13.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game during the season with five double-doubles recorded. Her performance improved during GLIAC play where she averaged over 16 points per game with shooting splits of 53.8%/38.2%/76.1%. Additionally, she led her team with 38 blocks along with contributing 40 steals and 58 assists.

Nicole Kamin also earned significant accolades as a First-Team All-Conference selection and member of the All-Defensive team last season. She scored over nine points per game adding almost five rebounds per contest while leading her team with 51 steals alongside recording 79 assists and blocking 29 shots.

The GVSU Lakers will commence their upcoming campaign at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic at Trailhead this weekend where they are scheduled to face Findlay, Montana State Billings, and Union over three days in Montana.