Morningside and Dakota Wesleyan are tied for first in the GPAC Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Poll.

Morningside and Dakota Wesleyan are tied for first in the GPAC Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Poll.

Both teams received 95 points in the preseason poll. Dakota Wesleyan received six first place votes and Morningside received five.

Morningside returns 11 letter winners, including three starters, from a team that finished 33-3 last season and won the GPAC regular season championship with a 20-2 league record and the GPAC Tournament championship with an 80-59 victory against Dakota Wesleyan in the title game. The Mustangs finished five games in front of runner-ups Dakota Wesleyan and Mount Marty to win the GPAC regular season title by the largest margin in the history of the league.

The Mustangs advanced to the quarterfinals of last year’s NAIA Division II National Tournament, where they lost 76-69 against eventual NAIA II National Champion Marian.

Morningside will open the 2015-16 campaign on the road with a 6 p.m. game against Haskell Indian Nations University on Monday, Oct. 31, in Lawrence, Kan.

Click here for the complete 2015-16 GPAC Women’s Basketball Coaches Pre-Season Poll.