BEAVERTON, Ore. — The Fort Lewis College women's basketball team was picked No. 5 in the preseason poll released by the Women's Division II Bulletin today.

The Skyhawks finished the 2010-11 campaign with 28-3 overall record and 20-2 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games. The 28-3 mark (.903) was the best season in school history in terms of winning percentage. Fort Lewis won the RMAC Shootout for the first time ever and hosted the NCAA Division II Central Regionals for the second year in a row before being upset by Adams State 77-66 in overtime in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.

“The preseason honor is a great tribute to our program past and present,” said seventh-year FLC head coach Mark Kellogg, who ranks No. 5 in Division II in terms of winning percentage. Through his first six seasons at FLC, Kellogg's Skyhawks have posted an overall record of 147-41 (.782) and 97-20 in RMAC games (.829).

“It's a place that we have been familiar with over the last few years,” he elaborated on FLC's lofty preseason ranking. “We worked really hard to establish ourselves as a quality program and we would like to think we work even harder to stay there. With all that said, we understand the work ahead of us and that the final poll of the year is ultimately the most important.”

Additionally, senior forward Dana Schreibvogel was tabbed as a Super 16 Selection by the Women's Division II Bulletin — essentially, a preseason All-America honor. She was also picked as the preseason Player of the Year for the RMAC.

“Dana is definitely deserving of her preseason honor,” said Kellogg. “Obviously this is based primarily off of her past success, but we are looking forward to Dana leading us to many great accomplishments this season. I'm sure it is the beginning of many more honors to come her way.”

Metro State and Colorado Christian were picked second and third in the RMAC by the magazine. The Roadrunners, last year's RMAC regular season and Central Region champs, were picked 12th in the nation.

Fort Lewis has emerged as a national powerhouse the past four seasons, qualifying for the NCAA Division II playoffs all four years and advancing to the 2009 Sweet Sixteen and the 2010 Division II national championship game. The Skyhawks won three straight RMAC regular season titles from 2007-08 through 2009-10.

In addition to their success on the court, the Skyhawks also maintained the highest grade point average of any women's basketball team in the nation — 3.715 — the highest at all levels of collegiate basketball, including NCAA Divisions I, II, and III, plus NAIA and junior college teams.

Kellogg's team lost just two players after last season: all-time assists and three-point field goal leader Abby Jackson, who graduated with honors last April, and Andrea Owens, a reserve guard who played sparingly.

Junior Katerina Garcia, a third-team All-RMAC pick in 2010-11 despite coming off the bench for most of the year, takes over at point guard. Junior Alex Easterbrook, an RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll player, looks to replace some of Jackson's three-point shooting.

“We have two quality point guards that complement each other very well,” said Kellogg. “Kat is one of the fastest and quickest guards in the league and Alex can really run the offense and she has turned into a really good perimeter scorer. Both Kat and Alex can be great defensively. Erin Curry is a freshman point guard who is a good athlete that can really defend and offensively can get to the basket.”

The Skyhawks are strong at the wing with seniors Mary Rose Paiz and Stephanie Beeman returning, along with sophomores Ashley Kuchar and Erika Richards. Paiz earned second team All-RMAC and first team RMAC All-Academic honors a year ago. Beeman has been a member of the RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll each of the past two years.

“We return a lot of depth at the guard spot this year,” said Kellogg. “Mary Rose has taken her perimeter skills to a new level and will combine that with her ability to score in the paint. Stephanie is the glue to this whole team. She is a great defender and will be relied upon to score more this year as well. Ashley had a fantastic freshman year and has taken huge strides over the summer. She is playing with a ton of confidence and I expect her to explode this year. Erika has also taken a step up and to a different level as well. She had a great summer and has expanded her game in so many ways. Emma Hattman is coming off an injury, but will also provide even more depth at the guard spot.”

The inside game was already rock-solid with 2010-11 RMAC Player of the Year and third team All-American Schreibvogel, two-time RMAC All-Academic Honor Roll pick Jenna Santistevan, and sophomore Christina Groh returning. Add All-America transfer Jamie Simmons and top freshman recruits Kaile Magazzeni and Mary Brinton to the mix and the FLC might be the deepest team in Division II at the post.

“We are extremely deep at the post position and our posts are very versatile,” said Kellogg. “Dana gets the majority of the attention, but we have a great group ready to step in and take the pressure off of her. Dana has also expanded her game this year and will be even more difficult to match up with this season. Jenna is playing at a completely different level than we have seen before. She finished last year on such a high that she is eager to get going again. Christie had a tremendous summer and is ready for her coming-out party. She came back in great shape and her skill set is very versatile. Jamie is a transfer from West Texas A&M who gives us the deepest post depth in the country. She is an All-American caliber player who brings great athleticism and just an ability to score points. Kaile and Mary are two freshman posts who have really impressed us this fall. Both of these players will keep our tradition of quality post play in line for the future.”

The Skyhawks have three preseason exhibitions coming up within the next month: at 10 a.m. on Oct. 22 vs. Northern New Mexico, at 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 27 vs. Lamar Junior College, and an alumnae game at 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 5.