Lions tabbed No. 1 in Preseason Poll

The Vanguard women’s basketball team boasts three returning starters from last year’s conference championship team.The Vanguard University women’s basketball team, coming off a school-record 32-win season, was named the No. 1 team in the nation in the NAIA Sports Talk 2005-2006 Preseason College Basketball Top 25 poll.

The Lions are expected to be ranked No. 1 in the official NAIA women’s basketball poll, which comes out today.

“From what I’m hearing, we’ll be No. 1 on that poll as well,” Vanguard Coach Russ Davis said. “We’re probably not going to make a big deal about it, but it’s great they have that much respect for our program.”

Last season marked the second straight year the team broke the school’s single-season record for wins. Last year’s 32 wins eclipsed the team’s 31 wins from the 2003-2004 campaign.

The Lions have captured three consecutive Golden State Athletic Conference titles. Last year, Vanguard Coach Russ Davis was named the GSAC Coach of the Year and Kelly Schmidt was named the GSAC Women’s Basketball Player of the Year.

Schmidt, the nation’s leading scorer as a sophomore last year, also received NAIA First-Team All-America honors.

“She’s known out there as the top returning player in the country,” Davis said. “She’s a scoring machine.”

Schmidt, Rachel Besse -- an All-GSAC selection and an NAIA All-America honorable mention pick -- and junior Lacey Burns, are the three returning starters on this year’s squad.

Transfers Tiari Goold (BYU) and Jessica Richter (Syracuse) figure to be key newcomers to this season’s team, which boasts no seniors. Davis said the No. 1 ranking says a lot about his recruiting class, which also boasts Laura Job, Dani Drivstuen, Julie Jordan, Tessa Umbaugh and Lindsey Wood.

Vanguard opens its season with an exhibition game at USC on Monday.