#HLWBB Media Event

INDIANAPOLIS – For the 13th time in school history, the Green Bay Phoenix returned to the top of the podium to garner the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship title a season ago and were voted in the preseason poll to notch their 14th title in 2016. Defending Defensive Player of the Year, UIC senior forward Ruvanna Campbell, was tabbed Preseason Player of the Year in voting by the League’s coaches, media and sports information directors.

The Phoenix claimed 25 of the 31 first-place votes cast to accumulate 302 points to carry the top spot in the poll.

Last season, Campbell recorded a League-leading 13 double-doubles throughout conference play with her 18.3 points per contest and 15.4 rebounds per game averages. In addition to her Defensive Player of the Year accolade, Campbell also tabbed First Team All-League honors for the second-straight season.

Wright State senior guard Kim Demmings, the 2014 Player of the Year, joined Campbell on the preseason First Team as she returns to the court for the Raiders after an injury kept her out last year. In 2014, Demmings averaged 22.4 points per game, 2.1 steals per game and shot 72 percent from the charity stripe.

The remaining three players on the First Team were all 2015 postseason Second Team All-League honorees. Juniors Mehryn Kraker and Tesha Buck represent Green Bay on the Team as the two teammates look to defend their regular season and tournament titles this year. Kraker averaged 12.1 points per game and had a .487 field goal percentage while Buck also posted 12.1 points per game in addition to her 3.9 assists per game for the Phoenix.

Detroit’s Rosanna Reynolds capped off the First Team as the junior posted averages of 18.3 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game to lead the Titans last year.

The preseason Second Team All League was led by 2015 Freshman and Sixth Player of the Year Dani Franklin of Valparaiso. Franklin paced all newcomers last season with 12.7 points per game and a .463 field goal percentage. Joining her are the senior duo from Oakland in Olivia Nash and Elena Popkey. The Golden Grizzlies return averages of 13.0 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game from Nash while Popkey provided 12.2 points per game for Oakland last year as well as 1.8 steals per game.

UIC’s Terri Bender and Green Bay’s Ashley Luke rounded out the Second Team in the preseason voting. Bender averaged 14.5 points per game for the Flames last season in addition to her 4.3 assists per game and 2.8 steals per game. Luke, a transfer from Western Illinois, was the 2015 Summit League Player of the Year and ended her junior campaign with 11-straight double-doubles.

Green Bay returns 87.3 percent of its scoring from last year to rank second in the League with 10 players back to the squad from 2015. The Phoenix return four starters from a season ago and enter 2015-16 with 18-consecutive postseason appearances and 38-consecutive winning seasons.

Wright State was voted second in the poll with 250 points and four first-place votes. The Raiders lose 71.2 percent of their scoring production from last season but will look to the senior leadership of Demmings to help fill the gap.

The Flames garnered the third spot in the poll with 210 points and one first-place vote as UIC leads the conference in three returning categories; points (94.3%), rebounds (91.0%) and assists (88.5%).

Youngstown State took fourth in the poll with 181 points while Oakland captured 162 to slot in at fifth. The Penguins return three starters to the roster while Oakland will rely on the senior leadership of Popkey and Nash.

Cleveland State grabbed the remaining first-place voted as the Vikings took sixth with 161 points with new head coach Bernard Scott and the Detroit Titans right behind in seventh with 157 points.

Newcomer Northern Kentucky slotted in at eighth for its inaugural year in the Horizon League with 134 points. Milwaukee and Valparaiso finished out the poll, only separated by one point.

The regular season will start on Friday, November 13, with all ten teams in action. Horizon League play begins November 28 with Youngstown State at Oakland.

The 2016 Horizon League Women’s Basketball Tournament will include all ten teams in a four-day format beginning March 10 and culminating with the championship game on March 13 on ESPNU at the Kress Events Center in Green Bay, Wis. All rounds of the Championship will be streamed on ESPN3.