The Hope College women's basketball team is aiming to contend for a third consecutive Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association championships and NCAA Division III Tournament berths during the 2014-15 season.
Coach Brian Morehouse's Flying Dutch are coming off a 28-1 campaign that saw the Flying Dutch win MIAA regular-season and league tournament titles. Hope went 16-0 in MIAA regular-season play for the third time in school history and the fourth unbeaten league season.
The Flying Dutch advanced to the second round of the national tournament. It was Hope's 15h postseason appearance and eighth in the past nine seasons.
Hope is ranked in two preseason national polls: fourth in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association rankings and sixth in the d3hoops.com poll.
The Flying Dutch's 2014-15 roster of 16 players features six seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen.
Co-captains for this year's team are senior Brittany Berry of Grand Rapids, Michigan (Catholic Central HS), senior Rebekah Llorens of Grayslake, Illinois (Grayslake Central HS), and junior Maura McAfee of Midland, Michigan (Midland HS).
McAfee returns after claiming 2013-14 MIAA MVP honors as a sophomore. She averaged 14.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game while starting all 29 games last season, including a double-double in league games.
McAfee also topped the MIAA last season in steals (2.5 per game), finished second in blocked shots (1.4) and was third in field goal percentage (54 percent).
The Flying Dutch also bring back a second returning starter in Berry, an All-MIAA Second Team player who contributed 8.8 points and a team-high 2.8 assists per game last season.
Berry is tied with fifth all-time in Hope history with 144 career 3-pointers made in 84 games. She also is tied for second and fourth in single-season 3-pointers made with 65 in 2012-13 and 62 in 2013-14.
Two other starters are slated to return after missing significant time last season: Llorens and sophomore Angelique Gaddy of Caledonia, Michigan (Grand Rapids South Christian HS).
Senior Hannah Doell of Center Valley, Pennsylvania (Southern Lehigh HS), also is back after starting 18 games in place of Llorens last season.
Other returning letters winners are senior Melissa LaReau of Bradley, Illinois (Bishop McNamara Catholic HS), senior Emily Klauka of Holt, Michigan (Holt HS), senior Kamara Sudberry of Clio, Michigan (Clio HS), and junior Autumn Anderson of Wayland, Michigan (Wayland HS).
The Flying Dutch tip off the season on Saturday, Nov. 15, against Finlandia at DeVos Fieldhouse. The 1990 national championship team — the first in school history in any sport, will be honored at the game.
Hope will host two regular-season tournaments at DeVos Fieldhouse: the Nov. 21-22 Hope Tournament and the Dec. 12-13 Post Exam Jam.
MIAA play tips off on Dec. 3 against Adrian at DeVos Fieldhouse.
