HAVERFORD, Pa. – The Haverford College women's basketball team has been selected to finish tied for ninth with Swarthmore in the 2025–26 Centennial Conference preseason coaches' poll, released Tuesday afternoon by the conference office.
Johns Hopkins was picked to finish atop the standings, earning seven first-place votes and 97 total points. Defending conference champion Gettysburg followed closely behind in second with four first-place votes and 94 points. McDaniel was tabbed third with 76 points, while Dickinson and Ursinus rounded out the top five, tying for fourth with 68 points each.
Franklin & Marshall was picked sixth with 52 points, followed by Washington College (49 points) in seventh and Muhlenberg (34 points) in eighth. Haverford and Swarthmore each earned 28 points to tie for ninth, while Bryn Mawr completed the poll in 11th with 16 points.
The Scarlet and Black will look to return to the Centennial Conference Tournament for the first time since the 2022–23 campaign, as head coach Grace Elliott welcomes five newcomers to a roster that features several key returners.
Among the returners is senior guard Caroline Orza, who enters her final season as one of the conference's most dynamic perimeter scorers. The Chevy Chase, Md. native — a former Centennial Conference Player of the Week — earned City of Basketball Love All-Area Honorable Mention honors last season after averaging 12.4 points per game and hitting a team-leading 169 three-pointers.
Junior forward Audrey Jakway also returns after a breakout 2024–25 season. Jakway led the Fords in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 12.4 points and 8.1 boards per game while anchoring Haverford's interior presence on both ends of the floor.
Haverford opens its 2025–26 season on the road at Keystone on Saturday, November 8, at 2 p.m. in La Plume, Pa.
All home games will stream live on the Centennial Conference Digital Network, available online, via mobile app, and on CC streaming platforms for Amazon Fire, Apple TV, Android TV, and Roku. Fans can follow the Fords all season long at HaverfordAthletics.com and on social media at @HCFords_Sports.
