LANCASTER, Pa. – Gettysburg has been chosen as the favorite to claim conference hardware in the 2019-20 Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll. In a vote among conference head coaches and athletic communications directors, the Bullets nabbed eight first-place votes and totaled 184 points to land atop the preseason rankings. 

In addition to the Bullets, four other teams garnered first-place votes in what figures to be a wide-open race for the Centennial title this winter. Defending-champion Haverford earned six first-place votes and 165 points to land in second place in the voting, followed by Johns Hopkins in third with five first-place nods and 162 points. Ursinus (151 points; 1 first-place vote) and Muhlenberg (136 points; 2 first-place votes) also collected first-place votes and took fourth and fifth in the rankings, respectively. 

Dickinson was picked sixth with 130 points, followed by Frankin & Marshall (89), McDaniel (67), Washington College (64), Swarthmore (42), and Bryn Mawr (20) in seventh through 11th, respectively. 

The 2019-20 campaign tips off on Friday, Nov. 8 with three Centennial teams in action. Conference play ramps up in late November, with the CC Tournament slated for Feb. 25-28-29. 

2019-20 Schedule | 2018-19 Results | 2018-19 Statistical Leaders | 2018-19 Championship Results | 2018-19 All-Centennial Team 

Third-seeded Haverford defeated host and top-seeded Gettysburg 62-40 to claim its second Centennial Conference title last season. The 2018-19 campaign marked just the third time in Centennial Conference history that a trio of conference squads qualified for the NCAA Tournament, as Haverford, Gettysburg, and Johns Hopkins represented the conference in the national postseason. The Fords and Blue Jays each advanced to the second round before seeing their seasons come to a close. 

Another year of balanced competition from top to bottom appears to be in store this winter, as evidenced by five teams receiving first-place votes in the annual preseason poll. 

A total of nine All-Centennial players return to the court this season, led by Ursinus senior forward Lydia Konstanzer, the lone returning All-CC First Team selection and a Second Team All-Region pick last season. Returning second team honorees include Dickinson sophomore forward Kate Deutsch, the reigning Rookie of the Year in the conference and the region, Franklin & Marshall senior center Kristin Hamill, Gettysburg senior guard Ashley Gehrin, and Ursinus junior guard Aliyah Stephens. 

A quartet of honorable mention All-CC picks are back this winter - the Haverford duo of senior forward Megan Furch and senior guard Anna-Sophia Capizzi, Gettysburg junior forward Meredith Brown, and Washington College senior guard Bridget McLaughlin. 

2019 Centennial Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll