RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – With three weeks left till the tip-off of the 2023-24 season, Henderson State women's basketball was selected fifth in the Great American Conference Preseason Poll, the league announced Thursday.
Southern Nazarene was tabbed to defend its 2022-23 title with 117 points and seven first-place votes. Just behind, Harding (2
nd) received the remaining five first-place nods and garnered 115 total points. Filling out the top five, Oklahoma Baptist (90), Arkansas Tech (88) and HSU (81) were picked third, fourth and fifth, respectively.
The Reddies return nine players from last year's squad that finished 17-12 overall and 14-8 in conference games, earning the three-seed at the GAC Tournament. Among the returners, HSU brings back First-Team All-GAC
Ashley Farrar. The Green Forest, Ark. native tallied the second most points across the league last year with 560 - the fifth most points in a season by a Reddie - and averaged 19.3 points per game.
Along with Farrar, HSU also returns a handful of experience with upperclassmen
JJ Eddens,
Bobbi Bazzle,
Jadah Pickens and
Eryka Patton all back. In addition, Henderson St. added four new faces in the offseason, including
Tori Gittens from Charleston Southern and
Makenna Winans from Oral Roberts, along with freshmen
Sam Basson and
Natalie Cardenas.
"We have a lot of returners who played minutes throughout last season who will be stepping into much bigger roles this season," Head coach
Jill Thomas said. "On top of our returners, we are very pleased with our recruiting class with two D1 transfers and two freshmen who will all step into important roles right away."
Henderson State opens the season on the road with the GAC/MIAA Conference Challenge, where HSU will face Emporia State and Missouri Southern in Emporia, Kan., on Nov. 10-11.
2023-24 GAC Coaches Preseason Poll
| Team |
Total Votes |
First-Place Votes |
| Southern Nazarene |
117 |
7 |
| Harding |
115 |
5 |
| Oklahoma Baptist |
90 |
|
| Arkansas Tech |
88 |
|
| Henderson State |
81 |
|
| Ouachita Baptist |
64 |
|
| Northwestern Oklahoma State |
54 |
|
| Southeastern Oklahoma State |
47 |
|
| Southern Arkansas |
41 |
|
| East Central |
39 |
|
| Southwestern Oklahoma State |
35 |
|
| Arkansas-Monticello |
21 |
|
