SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. -- With the 2022-23 college basketball season rapidly approaching, the West Coast Conference released its preseason poll and all-conference preseason selections based on voting from the league's head coaches. The USF Dons women's basketball team was picked to finish fourth for the second consecutive season as the Dons made their second straight WNIT appearance while finishing third in a deep and competitive league. 

USF redshirt junior guard Ioanna Krimili was picked for her second All-WCC Preseason Team after leading the WCC in points per game last season at 19.6, as she's continued to emerge as one of the most prolific scorers in the nation. Under USF head coach Molly Goodenbour, the Dons have finished higher than their preseason expectation as a team in five of her six years leading the Dons women's program. 

"We are excited to get the 2022-23 season underway and hope to compete for a WCC Championship and the WCC Tournament Championship," Goodenbour said. "This year's team has a solid foundation of veterans, including fifth year players Kia Vaalavirta, Abby Rathbun and Amaie Langer along with returning first team All-WCC player Ioanna Krimili who's back for her fourth season. We are counting on our newcomers to bolster our depth and to make an immediate, positive impact on and off the floor." 

Throughout her first three seasons at USF, Krimili has proven to among the conference's most dangerous scorers from all levels on the court. Despite the best efforts of opposing teams a season ago, Krimili was able to impact the game with her passing and ability to get to the free throw line to go along with her prolific outside shooting. 

The Heraklion, Greece native last year led her team with 35.4 minutes played per game while shooting 43% from the field and 35% from three-point range. Beyond scoring the ball, Krimili also did a tremendous job of limiting easy offensive transitions for opposing teams with a 1.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. 

Gonzaga was picked to finish first in the conference after winning the WCC tournament last season to secure an at-large bid to last season's NCAA Tournament, the Bulldogs also feature the most student-athletes selected to the preseason team with three. The Bulldogs break BYU's eight-year run at the top of the poll as they came in third place overall. 

The Dons will open West Coast Conference play earlier than in previous years, as they will welcome the Loyola Marymount Lions to War Memorial at the Sobrato Center on Dec. 17 in the first of 18 WCC games on the schedule.

Single game and season tickets for USF women's basketball are now available and can be purchased here. 

The full 2022-23 WCC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll and All-WCC Basketball Preseason Team can be viewed below:

Team	First Place	Points
1. Gonzaga	9	81
2. Portland	1	71
3. BYU		55
4. San Francisco		54
5. Saint Mary's		47
6. San Diego		46
7. LMU		39
8. Santa Clara		29
9. Pacific		17
10. Pepperdine		11

 

Name	Year	Position	School
Haylee Andrews	Sr.	G	Portland
Ali Bamberger	Jr.	F	Saint Mary's
Yvonne Ejim	Jr.	F	Gonzaga
Alex Fowler	Jr.	F	Portland
Lauren Gustin	Jr.	F	BYU
Ariel Johnson	Sr.	G	LMU
Ioanna Krimili	Jr.	G	San Francisco
Myah Pace	Sr.	G	San Diego
Kayleigh Truong	Sr.	G	Gonzaga
Kaylynne Truong	Sr.	G	Gonzaga

SPONSOR THE DONS:
The University of San Francisco Athletics Department would like to acknowledge and thank our primary sponsor - Provident Credit Union - for their continued support of USF Athletics. Interested in sponsoring the Dons? Please contact Frank Allocco, the Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of External Relations, at fallocco@usfca.edu or at (415) 422-4561. 

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