Women’s Basketball Lands Sixth in GNAC Preseason Poll
GNAC PRESEASON POLL PRESS RELEASE | 2023-24 REGIS WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
WINTHROP, Mass. - The Regis College women's basketball team landed in sixth place among the 15-team Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) as the results of the voting by the league's women's basketball coaches for the 2023-24 GNAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll were announced Thursday, Nov. 2, by the league office.
The Pride, coming off a second place finish in the GNAC South Division last year, finished with 148 points in this year's voting. Defending GNAC champion Saint Joseph's College received eight first place votes and 217 total points to land atop the poll, just ahead of Emmanuel College with five first place votes and 211 points overall.
Regis will open the 2023-24 season next Wednesday, Nov. 8, with a short trip to face Wellesley College, the first meeting between the neighboring schools in five years. The Pride welcome UMass Dartmouth for their home opener on Veterans Day, Saturday, Nov. 11, currently scheduled for a 1 p.m. tipoff.
The next four games will take place away from home, beginning at WPI Tuesday, Nov. 14. Regis will participate in the Westfield Gas and Electric Tip-Off Tournament, facing host Westfield State Friday, Nov. 17 and either Muhlenberg or Eastern Connecticut State Saturday, Nov. 18. The road swing concludes right before Thanksgiving at Framingham State Tuesday, Nov. 21.
The Pride return home for a non-conference game against Wheaton Wednesday, Nov. 29, before beginning conference play at Dean Saturday, Dec. 2. Regis closes out the 2023 portion of the schedule with home games against Clark Tuesday, Dec. 5, and Saint Joseph's College Saturday, Dec. 9.
Right after 2024 begins, Regis hosts Emerson Tuesday, Jan. 2, before road contests at Salve Regina Jan. 4, at Anna Maria Jan. 6, and at Fitchburg State Jan. 10. GNAC newcomer Mitchell comes to Higgins Court for a league matchup Saturday, Jan. 13, followed by a home game against Norwich Tuesday, Jan. 16.
The Pride play their next three conference games on the road, visiting University of Saint Joseph Jan. 20, Emmanuel Jan. 24, and Lasell Jan. 27. New England College, the second new member of the league, comes to Weston Tuesday, Jan. 30, with Rivier, the team that eliminated Regis from last year's conference tournament, visiting the Pride Saturday, Feb. 3.
During the final two weeks of the regular season, Regis travels to Elms Feb. 7 before hosting Albertus Magnus, the other team receiving first place votes in the preseason poll as the Falcons landed third, Feb. 10. The Pride travel to Colby-Sawyer Feb. 13 and then welcome Johnson and Wales for Senior Day and the regular season finale Saturday, Feb. 17.
The top 10 teams at the end of the regular season will qualify for the 2024 GNAC Women's Basketball Championship Tournament. The postseason starts with a Play-In Round featuring the bottom four tournament seeds on Monday, Feb. 19, with those winners advancing to the GNAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, Feb. 20.
Following the quarterfinals, the remaining four teams will play in the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 22, with the tournament culminating in the GNAC Championship game on Saturday, Feb. 24. The winner of the championship game will be named 2023-24 GNAC Women's Basketball Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship.
Regis posted a 12-13 overall record in 2022-23, including a 12-6 mark within the GNAC. Samantha Crough enters her third season at the helm of the program and has a roster of seven returners, including 2022-23 GNAC Rookie of the Year Madi Zancan (Cumberland, R.I.), and seven newcomers.