TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - Washington & Jefferson College earned the number one spot in this year's Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was voted on by the league's 11 head coaches.

The PAC announced the results of its preseason coaches' poll and its annual players to watch list Friday morning.

Washington & Jefferson, led by 20th-year head coach Jina DeRubbo, earned six of the 11 first-place votes and totaled 95 points to secure the top spot in this year's poll. The Presidents were the No. 1 seed in last year's PAC Championship Tournament and tied a school-record with 24 victories before falling in the Tournament semifinals to Chatham University. W&J, who has won 20 or more games 14 times since 2004-05, has won six PAC titles in program history.

Placing second in the preseason balloting was Saint Vincent College, who gathered three first place votes and 91 points. Now in his 14th season, head coach Jimmy Petruska guided the Bearcats to a 22-5 mark a year ago, the fifth time the program has won 20+ games under Petruska. Saint Vincent also won their third PAC title in the last five seasons with a 68-52 triumph over Chatham in last year's championship game, which earned the program their fourth trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The last two first-place votes went to Chatham, who totaled 84 points to place third in the preseason poll. Sixth-year head coach David Saur led the Cougars to their most successful season in program history a year ago. Chatham's 19-8 overall record set a new standard for single-season victories, while their 14 PAC wins was also a program record. In addition, the Cougars' run to the PAC Championship game was their first-ever trip to the title tilt.

Ranking fourth in the poll was Westminster College with 75 points, while Allegheny College was fifth (58). Rounding out the balloting was Grove City College in sixth (54); Bethany College in seventh (50); Geneva College in eighth (38); Waynesburg University in ninth (28); Franciscan University in 10th (28) and Thiel College (10)

This year's Players to Watch list is highlighted by four returning First Team All-PAC selections and all three major award winners from last year. That includes last year's PAC Player of the Year in W&J junior forward Meghan Dryburgh (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), the Defensive Players of the Year in Saint Vincent senior guard/forward Alana Winkler (Wexford, Pa./Vincentian Academy) and Chatham sophomore forward Alyssa Laukus (Irwin, Pa./Norwin), the 2022-23 PAC Newcomer of the Year.

Dryburgh had a remarkable all-around season for the Presidents as a sophomore, ranking seventh in the conference in scoring (13.3), second in rebounding (11.5), third in field goal percentage (48.1), second in assists (3.8), fifth in steals (2.4) and fifth in blocked shots (1.5). Dryburgh completed the season with 17 double-doubles, highlighted by a 22-point, 26-board line in a Jan. 14th victory at Grove City. Two games later on Jan. 25th against Chatham, Dryburgh posted a triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists. In addition to the PAC Player of the Year honors, Drybaugh was also named Honorable Mention All-America by the Women's Basketball Coaches' Association (WBCA).

Winkler's work on the defensive end fueled a Bearcat team that allowed a league-low shooting percentage at 27.9 percent, as well as rank second in scoring defense at 49.9 points per game. Saint Vincent held their opponent to 45 or fewer points in eight games this year, including the PAC Tournament quarterfinal win over Bethany (43) and PAC semifinal victory over Westminster (45). For the year, Winkler averaged 5.3 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, while also posting 22 blocked shots and a team-leading 3.3 assists for the Bearcats.

In her debut season for the Cougars, Laukus started 21 of the 25 games she appeared in and averaged 11.2 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She also led the PAC by shooting 51.9 percent from the floor and ranked seventh in blocked shots with 1.4 rejections per game. Laukus posted her first career double-double with 14 points and 10 boards Feb. 20th against Allegheny and reached double digits in scoring 16 times in her freshman campaign. 

This season will see the PAC shift to a six-team PAC Championship Tournament with the top two seeds receiving byes. This year's conference postseason will get underway on Tuesday, February 20 with its quarterfinal round. The semifinals are slated for Thursday, Feb. 22 and this year's championship game is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 24.

This year's championship tournament winner will receive the league's automatic qualifying bid to the Division III Championship. Team selections for the Division III Championship are scheduled to be announced Monday, Feb. 26, with first and second round matchups scheduled for Friday-Saturday, March 1-2. 
 

2023-24 PAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
School (first-place votes)	Points	2022-23 Record (PAC)
1. Washington & Jefferson College (6)	95	24-3 (19-1 PAC)
2. Saint Vincent College (3)	91	22-5 (17-3 PAC)
3. Chatham University (2)	84	19-8 (14-6 PAC)
4. Westminster College	75	16-11 (11-9 PAC)
5. Allegheny College	58	13-13 (12-8 PAC)
6. Grove City College	54	15-11 (15-5 PAC)
7. Bethany College	50	9-17 (9-11 PAC)
8. Geneva College	38	6-20 (6-14 PAC)
9. Waynesburg University	28	2-23 (2-18 PAC)
10. Franciscan University	22	4-20 (3-17 PAC)
11. Thiel College	10	2-23 (2-18 PAC)

2023-24 PAC Women's Basketball Players to Watch

Allegheny
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Jess Bickart	So.	G	5-8	Cranberry Township, Pa./Seneca Valley
Emily Lauer	Jr.	G	5-7	Knox, Pa./Keystone
Sarah Santicola	So.	F	6-2	Moon Township, Pa./Moon

 

Bethany
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Lindsey Garrison	Jr.	G	5-7	Triadelphia, W.Va./Wheeling Park
Makenzee Mason	Sr.	G	5-7	Lithopolis, Ohio/Bloom-Carroll
Bella Skobel	Sr.	G	5-7	Charleroi, Pa./Charleroi
Ashleigh Wheeler	Jr.	G	5-5	Quaker City, Ohio/Shenandoah

 

Chatham
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Charjae Brock	Jr.	G	5-8	Columbus, Ohio/Whitehall Yearling (Clarion)
Hannah Chenault	So.	G	5-10	East Berlin, Pa./Bermudian Springs
Alyssa Laukus	So.	F	6-0	Irwin, Pa./Norwin
Ashlie Louden	Jr.	G	5-7	Beallsville, Ohio/Beallsville
Celi Portillo	Fr.	F	6-1	Littlestown, Pa./Littlestown

 

Franciscan
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Madison Doan	Jr.	C	6-1	San Diego, Calif./St. Joseph Academy
Mikayla Doan	Fr.	C/F	6-0	San Diego, Calif./St. Joseph Academy
Maria McCallen	Fr.	F	6-0	Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara
Jazzlyn Melnyk	Jr.	G	5-8	Weirton, W.Va./Madonna

 

Geneva
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Bailee Fletcher	So.	F	5-9	Midlothian, Texas/Waxahachie Preparatory Acad.
Monica Lammie-Bosquez	Fr.	G	5-8	Panama City, Panama/Instituto Sun Yat Sen Chino
Cynthia Milroy	Sr.	G		Silver Spring, Md./Paint Branch
Taylor Milroy	Jr.	G		Pittsburgh, Pa./Eden Christian Academy
Mia San Nicolas	Sr.	F	6-0	Sinajana, Guam/Academy of Our Lady of Guam

 

Grove City
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Jaden Davinsizer	Jr.	G	5-9	Harmony, Pa./Seneca Valley
Kat Goetz	Sr.	F	5-11	Pittsburgh, Pa./Avonworth
Clara Hannon	So.	G	5-8	Grove City, Pa./Grove City
Reese Hasley	So.	G	5-5	Cheswick, Pa./Deer Lakes
Mara Polczynski	Jr.	G	5-6	Irwin, Pa./Norwin

   

Saint Vincent
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Lizzie Bender	Sr.	C	6-0	Twinsburg, Ohio/Gilmour Academy
Emily Cavacini	Sr.	G	5-3	Pittsburgh, Pa./Shaler
Emily Thompson	Jr.	G	5-9	Erie, Pa./Mercyhurst Prep
Madison Weber	Grad.	F	5-11	Grampian, Pa./Curwensville
Alana Winkler	Sr.	F	5-9	Wexford, Pa./Vincentian Academy

 

Thiel
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Jah'nya Dorsey	Fr.	F	5-9	Warren, Ohio/LaBrae
Josie Lewis	Fr.	G	5-6	Greenville, Pa./Greenville
Taylor Susany	Jr.	G	5-7	Struthers, Ohio/Struthers
Lexy Wagner	Jr.	G	5-7	Pittsburgh, Pa./Keystone Oaks

     

W&J
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Sarah Berardelli	Sr.	C	6-1	Ambridge, Pa./North Catholic
Brynn Bezjak	Jr.	G	5-5	Uniontown, Pa./Laurel Highlands
Adalyn Cherry	Jr.	G	5-6	Altoona, Pa./Altoona Area
Meghan Dryburgh	Jr.	F	5-11	Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin
Stellanie Loutision	So.	G	5-10	Canonsburg, Pa./Canon-McMillan

     

Waynesburg
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Anika Dansby	Grad.	G	5-4	Massillon, Ohio/Washington
Emma Seto	So.	F	5-9	Allison, Pa./Brownsville
Marley Wolf	Sr.	G	5-5	Ellwood City, Pa./Riverside

 

Westminster
Name	Yr.	Pos.	Ht.	Hometown/High School
Lindsay Bell	5th	F	6-0	Youngstown, Ohio/Ursuline
Caitlyn Condolean	Sr.	G	5-7	Warren, Ohio/Warren JFK
Camden Hergenrother	Grad.	G	5-6	Salem, Ohio/Cardinal Mooney
Natalie Murrio	5th	G	5-7	Pittsburgh, Pa./Brentwood
Mariah Vincent	Sr.	G	5-7	Franklin Pike, Pa./Kennedy Catholic