CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The Nebraska Wesleyan University women's basketball team was picked to finish seventh in the 2017-18 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' poll that was released on Wednesday (Oct. 18).
 
NWU received 25 total points in the conference preseason poll.
 
Wartburg College received seven first place votes and 63 total points to take the No. 1 spot in the preseason poll after winning both the regular season and conference tournament in 2016-17.  Luther College had 56 points and the other two first place votes to finish second in the IIAC Coaches Poll.
 
Nebraska Wesleyan is coming off a 13-13 season in 2016-17, where they went 6-10 in the first year competing in the Iowa Conference to tie for sixth in the final standings and earn a spot in the postseason tournament.  It was the best season in 16 years for the Prairie Wolves women's basketball program as the 13 wins were the most since 2000-01 and the first time NWU finished .500 or betters since that same year.
 
Sam Dixon begins his first season as the new head coach of the NWU women's basketball program.  Dixon came to NWU after spending the previous four years as an assistant coach at Northwestern University in the Big 10 conference.
 
Coach Dixon welcomes back all five starters from the 2016-17 team and three players that averaged in double figures in scoring, including sophomore guard Caitlin Navratil who was 2^nd-Team All-IIAC one year ago.
 
NWU began preseason practice on Oct. 15 and will begin the 2017-18 regular season on Nov. 17 at North Central University in Minneapolis, Minn.  The Prairie Wolves home opener is Nov. 29 versus Grace University, then NWU begins IIAC play on Dec. 2 hosting Simpson College.


2017-18 IIAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Rank, School (1st Place Votes), Points
1. Wartburg (7), 63
2. Luther (2), 56
3. Loras, 49
4. Coe, 41
5. Simpson, 33
6. Buena Vista, 30
7. Nebraska Wesleyan, 25
8. Dubuque, 16
9. Central, 11