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Women's Basketball
Women's Hoops Picked Third in MIAC Preseason Poll
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.—The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) recently announced the 2017-18 MIAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll and picked to finish third among all 12 teams in the preseason poll was Bethel. The Royals finished the 2016-17 campaign 22-5 overall and 16-2 against conference opponents. Both records, which propelled the Royals to their fourth straight MIAC Playoff appearance, were program bests in terms of winning percentage.
BU begins the upcoming season on Friday, November 17, when they travel to Mount Vernon, Iowa, to take on Carthage College in the Cornell College Classic. The Royals will then play Buena Vista on day two of the tournament at 4 p.m.
Bethel will be again tested the following week with a road tilt at the perennial WIAC contender, UW-River Falls, on Tuesday, November 21, and then at home against No. 21-ranked George Fox University on Saturday, November 25.
It doesn't get any easier from there, as BU then plays nine straight games away from the Robertson Center Gym, including six against MIAC opponents. Bethel also takes on the University of Northwestern in Roseville and Saint Vincent College and MacMurray College in Daytona Beach, Florida, during that stretch.
The Royals then finish the regular season with nine out of 12 games at home—a place they've gone 42-6 over the last four years—with all of them coming against conference foes.
Complete 2017 Preseason Coaches' Poll
Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (11 for first, 10 for second, etc.) Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with vote totals listed and first-place votes shown in parentheses.
| 2017-18 MIAC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll |
| Rank |
Institution |
Total |
| 1. |
St. Thomas (8) |
117 |
| 2. |
Gustavus (4) |
114 |
| 3. |
Bethel |
102 |
| 4. |
Saint Benedict |
88 |
| 5. |
Augsburg |
80 |
| 6. |
Saint Mary's |
66 |
| 7. |
St. Catherine |
61 |
| 8. |
Carleton |
51 |
| 9. |
Macalester |
35 |
| 10. |
Concordia |
34 |
| 11. |
St. Olaf |
33 |
| 12. |
Hamline |
11 |
2018 MIAC Women's Basketball Playoffs
The
2018 MIAC Women's Basketball Playoffs will feature the top six teams in the Conference standings playing in a high-seed-host, single-elimination postseason tournament. The two top seeds will receive a bye to the semifinal round, while the No. 3 seed will host the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 seed will host the No. 5 seeds during the quarterfinals, which will be held Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2018. The top remaining seed will play at the No. 2 seed and the lowest remaining seed will play at the No. 1 seed during the semifinals, which are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 22. The Championship game is set for Saturday, Feb. 24, with the two semifinal winners meeting on the home court of the top remaining seed. The winner will receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Tournament.
