LANCASTER, Pa – The Ursinus Bears women's basketball team was selected to finish sixth in the Centennial Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll, announced Thursday by the conference.  

The Bears will return to action in nearly two years after the 2020-21 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Gettysburg received 190 points and 15 of 22 first-place votes to finish first in the poll. The Bullets finished second in the conference in 2020 and received an at large bid to the NCAA tournament before falling to Marymount. Johns Hopkins followed just behind with 179 points behind three first-place votes. The defending Centennial Conference champions, Haverford, placed third with 158 total points. Haverford will be led by former UPenn assistant coach Stephanie Carideo in her first season for the Squirrels. Dickinson came next with 126 points and Muhlenberg rounded out the top five with 125 points.  

The Bears now led by former Haverford coach Bobbi Morgan, sit in sixth with 120 points. Swarthmore slotted in seventh with 82 points and just behind selected eighth is Franklin & Marshall with 76 points. Washington College selected to finish ninth with 70 points and McDaniel and Bryn Mawr rounded out the poll in 10th and 11th place, respectively.  

Ursinus finished the 2019-20 season with an overall record of 7-18 and 6-14 in the conference. Seniors Gabby Downs and Maddy Sorokanych headline the returners for the Bears entering the 2021-22 campaign. Downs and Sorokanych played in at least 24 of the 25 games two years ago and Downs led the team in total 3-pointers. Juniors Alyssa Martin and Erin Devine will look to make an impact in the Bears lineup after appearing in 18+ games in the 2019-20 season. Martin led the team in 3-point percentage (.372) while ranking second the team in total 3-pointers.  

Morgan joins the Bears after a remarkable 13-year stint at Haverford College, which included three Centennial Conference championships, four NCAA Tournament bids, and a pair of NCAA regionals finals. 

Ursinus will open the season on Saturday, November 6th when they will host Immaculata at 1:00PM.