NEW ULM, Minn. - The Martin Luther College women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the UMAC Preseason Coaches' Poll released on Tuesday.

The Knights finished the poll with 18 total points, putting them in between UW-Superior (27 points) and Northland (14) in fifth and seventh place, respectively. MLC finished the abbreviated 2020-21 season in seventh place in the final standings with a 3-10 overall record (2-5 in UMAC play).

MLC enters the season needing to replace 1,000+ point scorer Emily Witkowski, but the Knights return seven of their top eight players from last season in points per game.

Junior wing Erika Gosch returns as the team's leading scorer after averaging 13.0 points per game last year. Gosch is among the leading returning three-point shooters in the conference after making 29 triples last season in only 12 games, and shooting 38.2 percent from beyond the arc.

Joining Gosch as returning starters are sophomores Jordyn Heckendorf, Emma Nelson and Anna Treder.

Heckendorf led the Knights in assists (34) and steals (17) to go with 6.9 points per game in her debut season, while Nelson and Treder combined for 20 starts last season in the frontcourt. Nelson averaged 6.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, while Treder led the team in rebounds per game (7.3) to go with 3.9 points per game. 

Juniors Ally Platzer and Kortney Behnke return with experience in the backcourt, while Emily Rothfuss adds experience and scoring punch down low.

Bethany Lutheran was the unanimous choice among UMAC coaches to win the conference with 49 total  points and seven first-place votes. Northwestern (43 points, one first-place vote) and North Central (36) round out the top three.

You can read the full preseason release from the UMAC, which includes the preseason poll, if you click here. 

MLC will open the 2021-22 season at home on November 5 when it hosts Macalester.