KIRKLAND – Coaches of the Cascade Collegiate Conference expect Northwest to narrowly miss the women's basketball postseason, according to the preseason coaches' poll released Tuesday morning.
 
Northwest is ranked ninth in the poll, one point behind Corban.
 
"As always, we will use the pre-season poll as a starting place," said NU Head Coach Ken Crawford. "Much of it is based upon past performance and reputation. We look forward to the challenges ahead and we will be excited to see the final poll at the end of the season!"
 
Lewis-Clark State tops the poll with 137 points and half of the 12 first-place votes. Eastern Oregon received five first-place votes and is second with 134 points. Southern Oregon, with the remaining first-place vote, is third at 123.
 
Bushnell is fourth at 109, followed by Oregon Tech at 86, College of Idaho at 76, Warner Pacific at 61 and Corban at 55.
 
Northwest came in at 54, followed by Evergreen State at 52, Multnomah at 37 and Walla Walla at 12.
 
NU finished in a tie for sixth in the league last season. The Eagles open the regular season at home on Nov. 11 and 12 with William Jessup and Pacific Lutheran visiting in the Cascade Challenge.