Dayton, the defending regular-season champion, received 11 of 14 first-place votes and was named the preseason favorite Wednesday.
The Flyers open the season at 11 a.m. Nov. 9, against Alabama A&M at UD Arena but first will play an exhibition game at home against Indiana University of Pennsylvania at 7 p.m. Nov. 5.
There will also a “secret scrimmage” on Saturday against Michigan, according to a source. Green mentioned that scrimmage in her interview Thursday but did not name the opponent because the NCAA does not allow schools to publicize the scrimmage. Michigan ranks 11th in the Associated Press preseason poll.
“I think that’s going to really give us a good opportunity to see where we’re at early and and to make adjustments a week later in that exhibition game,” Green said. “We don’t have a lot of time. We play Duke Nov. 12. It’s not like we have a lot of time to figure ourselves out early. Scheduling a really tough scrimmage and then scheduling a really good exhibition game hopefully that’ll prepare us and give us an idea of exactly where we are at and what we need to continue to work on.”
Dayton has three sixth-year seniors and two fourth-year seniors on the roster. Two players from that group, Jenna Giacone and Kyla Whitehead, represented the team on media day. They’re eager to see outside competition in the coming weeks.
“We’re just excited to not beat up on ourselves anymore,” Whitehead said, “but someone else for a change.”
Unlike the Dayton men’s team, which has seven newcomers among 13 scholarship players, the women’s team has only two newcomers: freshmen Shannon Wheeler and Brynn Shoup-Hill.
“I’m really excited for both of our freshmen,” Giacone said. “You honestly wouldn’t be able to tell that they’re freshmen. They’ve handled their business really well. They show up every day. They’re consistent. They work hard. In terms of style of play, they’re both very versatile and athletic, able to shoot, able to drive, heavy on the boards. I think they’re going to be great for us this year. I’m excited to watch their careers.”
The veterans on the team expect them to get a chance to contribute.
“Our strength is in our numbers,” Whitehead said, “so we’re expecting one to 14 to play every single game. I think they can bring a lot to this team.”
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