GREAT FALLS — Following a trip to the NAIA national championship last year, the University of Providence women's basketball team has been picked to repeat as the Frontier Conference champion in Wednesday's preseason coaches poll.
The Argos return a good deal of their core from the national runner-up team, including Frontier preseason player of the year Ashlee Maldonado. A couple other notable names include preseason first-team all-conference player Keanna Salave'a and all-defensive performer Monique Carter.
Following Providence (five first-place votes) was a tie for second between Carroll College — which Providence beat in the NAIA national semifinals last season — and Rocky Mountain College. Carroll received a single first-place vote.
The coaches poll was rounded out by MSU-Northern, Montana Western and Montana Tech.
On the preseason all-conference team, Maldonado was joined by Salave'a, Kyndall Keller (Carroll), Willa Albrecht (Carroll), Gracee Lekvold (Rocky), Sydney Dethman (Rocky) and Joelnell Momberg (Western).
