Penn women's basketball picked third in Ivy Media Poll

After today’s Ivy preseason poll, it is looking like third place is the charm for Penn women’s basketball.

The Ivy League’s preseason media poll came out today, and the Quakers were picked to finished to finish in third place, mirroring the final standings from a year ago.

For the first time since 2004-05, the Red and Blue also received a first-place vote, as one media member among 17 total chose Penn to finish first.

Princeton, the four-time defending Ivy champions, are the favorites to win for a fifth time in a row, receiving 13 first-place votes despite the graduation of two-time Ivy Player of the Year Niveen Rasheed.

Harvard, led by junior Temi Fagbenle, followed Princeton and had the three remaining first-place votes.

Yale finished fourth in the poll, followed in order by Dartmouth, Cornell, Brown and Columbia to round out the Ancient Eight.

This is the first time in the Mike McLaughlin era for Penn that the Quakers have received a vote to finish in the top spot. McLaughlin’s squad returns all five starters from last season.

In that 2012-13 campaign, the Quakers finished 9-5 in the Ivy League after being picked to finish fourth in the preseason. Overall, the Red and Blue went 18-13, winning the first two postseason games in program history.

It was also the first time in McLaughlin’s tenure as head coach that the Quakers had a winning record, both overall and in Ivy play.

The 2013-14 team will be led by senior captain Alyssa Baron, a three-time All-Ivy pick, who led the Red and Blue in points, rebounds, assists and steals per game.

Penn also brings back sophomore guard Keiera Ray, who was key to last year’s successful Ivy run as a freshman, along with a trio of junior starters – guard Kathleen Roche and forwards Kara Bonenberger and Katy Allen.

The team will also return senior guard Meghan McCullough, who comes back after tearing her ACL last year, as well as senior forward Courtney Wilson.

With a strong nonconference schedule that features ACC powerhouses Notre Dame and Miami, the Quakers will face some stiff competition before beginning Ivy play with a bang, facing the defending champion Tigers on Jan. 11.