The nationally-ranked Hope College women's basketball team is determined to make its own mark this season.

Head coach Brian Morehouse said the Flying Dutch are focused on what lies ahead, not a disappointing finish to last season, which saw their run of NCAA Division III Tournament appearances snapped.

"I think it's motivating for me, but we also have a lot of new faces on this team, and people in a lot of different roles, so I'm not sure that our team is fixated on last year and how it ended," Morehouse said. "They're very present. I think they want to do the everyday things right now that it takes for us to be successful."

The Flying Dutch finished last season with a 21-5 overall record and a second-place, 14-2 in MIAA play.

Hope graduated four seniors, including its two leading scorers: All-MIAA guards Olivia  Bellows and Jada  Garner.

COACHING STAFF

Head coach: Brian Morehouse, 30th season
Associate head coach: Courtney Kust
Assistant coaches: Colly Carlson, Austin Randel

SCHEDULE

The Flying Dutch begin the 2025-26 season this weekend with two games in Wisconsin: tonight at 7:30 p.m. Central vs. the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and Saturday, Nov. 8, at 3:30 p.m. Central at River Falls.

Hope's home opener is Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 7 p.m. against Alma College. The game is also the MIAA opener for the Orange and Blue.

The Flying Dutch have 10 more home games, including:

• Hope College Tournament vs. Carthage College (Wisconsin) and Illinois Wesleyan University, Friday-Saturday, Nov. 21-22;
• Calvin University Saturday, Jan. 3, 4 p.m.;
• Poster Giveaway vs. The University of Olivet, Saturday, Jan. 10, at 3 p.m.;
• Community Day vs. Saint Mary's College, Saturday, Jan. 17, at 4 p.m.
• H-Club Alumni Event vs. Trine University, Saturday, Feb. 21, at 3 p.m. 

Hope placed second in the nine-team 2025-26 MIAA preseason poll with 17 points and one first-place vote. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams. Calvin University was the unanimous favorite, collecting eight points and eight first-place votes.

The Flying Dutch finished three points ahead of third-place and defending MIAA champion Trine University. Adrian College was fourth with 34 points, followed by Kalamazoo College (41), Albion College and Alma College (42 each), Saint Mary's College (56) and The University of Olivet (64).

"Our non-conference schedule is really, really challenging this year, but I think it's good," Morehouse said. "I think that it will test us. I think it will result in a lot of close games. I think this helps prepare you not just for the league, but game in and game out. You learn a lot going forward every day in practice, but also in games when they're close."

ROSTER

Hope returns All-MIAA Second Team guard Anna Richards. The sophomore from DeWitt, Michigan (Lansing Catholic) is the Flying Dutch's top returning scorer after averaging 9.0 points per game last season.

Four more Hope players who are back averaged at least 6.8 points per game last season.

Guard/forward Sydney Vis (Byron Center, Michigan / South Christian) averaged 8.5 points over 24 games as a junior. The 5-10 senior was an All-MIAA First Team selection in 2023-24.

Guard/forward Maddie Petroelje (Hudsonville, Michigan / Hudsonville) chipped in 8.0 points over 26 games last season, her first with the Flying Dutch.

Leah Richards (DeWitt, Michigan / Lansing Catholic) contributed greatly as a freshman, like her twin sister, but in the post. The 6-2 forward/center averaged 7.6 points and 6.3 rebounds over 26 games last season.

Guard Terin Maynard (Jenison, Michigan / Jenison) provided offensive punch off the bench, chipping in 6.8 points and 2.2 assists over 26 games.

Morehouse saw plenty of promise during preparations for the upcoming season.

"It's a group of highly competitive women who are really unselfish," Morehouse said. "They compete and they test each other. I think that showed up in our scrimmages against Grand Valley State University and also Hillsdale College. How we competed in those scrimmages, I think was a carryover from our daily practices."

Morehouse anticipates the Flying Dutch will utilize their depth throughout the season.

"It's such a large group, we're still trying to sort out what that might look like," Morehouse said. "I think if you look back on last year, we had a few different starting lineups throughout the year. We changed our rotation. I think you're in a constant state of learning more about your team. We have players who have different skill sets, and so in different games, we might need different things. It's a really deep roster, and we're going to try to use it to the best of our abilities."