ROLLA, Mo. – The Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) announced its 2025-26 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll on Tuesday, with Missouri S&T earning a fifth-place selection out of 15 teams. The Miners received 141 points and one first-place vote in the poll, which is voted on by the league's head coaches, who, per GLVC Bylaws are not permitted to vote for their own team.

Missouri S&T is coming off a strong 2024-25 campaign that saw the team finish 15-12 overall and 10-10 in GLVC play, advancing to the quarterfinals of the GLVC Tournament. The Miners also excelled at home, going 10-5 inside Gibson Arena to secure their first 10-win home season since 2011-12.

Leading the way last season for the Miners was All-GLVC First Team selection Anna Finley (Owensville, MO/Owensville), who returns after averaging 13.1 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game. Also back for S&T are Norah Gum (Waterloo, IL/Waterloo), who averaged 10.6 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds, and Morgan Luebbering (St. Thomas, MO/Fatima), who added 5.9 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest.

Head coach Kira Carter welcomes eight newcomers to this year's roster: Macy Marraccini (Broken Arrow, OK/Broken Arrow), Ava McCulla (St. Louis, MO/Parkway South), Sophia Helling (Union, MO/Union), Ava Casper (Bixby, OK/Holland Hall), Megan Aulbert (Lake St. Louis, MO/Lutheran), Adriana Benassi (Lee's Summit, MO/Lee's Summit), Allison Byars (Fayetteville, AR/Fayetteville), and Savannah Campbell (Rolla, MO/Rolla), a group expected to provide immediate impact and depth on both ends of the floor.

"I think preseason voting is one of the more trivial activities that we participate in," said head coach Kira Carter. "Nonetheless, I'm excited for the season! We have several new players—a mix of freshmen and transfers that bring in highly competitive experiences. We have a strong core of leaders returning as well. Finding our chemistry will be key for us, especially early, but the energy in practices and team activities has been encouraging so far. I'm looking forward to our continued growth as we enter the season!"

With a balanced blend of experience and new talent, the Miners look to build upon last year's success and continue their rise in the GLVC standings as the 2025-26 season tips off.

What's Next
The Miners will open their 2025-26 season on the road with an exhibition game against Indiana University on Monday, October 27, at 6 p.m. S&T begins its regular season schedule on November 14 at 3:30 p.m. at Kentucky Wesleyan before starting GLVC play on December 1 at 5:30 p.m. at Lincoln.

Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Drury - 191 (10)
2. Maryville - 165
3. Lewis - 163 (4)
4. Missouri-St. Louis - 158
5. Missouri S&T  - 141 (1)
6. McKendree - 135
7. Truman State - 108
8. Upper Iowa - 101
9. Rockhurst - 85
10. Quincy - 84
11. Indianapolis - 83
12. Illinois Springfield - 60
13. Southwest Baptist - 55
14. William Jewell - 24
15. Lincoln - 22