KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Western Michigan women's basketball team was picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) West Division according to the preseason poll voted on by the leagues 12 coaches.

Central Michigan, last season's West Division Champion, was picked to finish first in the West with all 12 possible first place votes. Ball State, Toledo, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois and Eastern Michigan round out the West Division. In the East, Ohio, last season's East Champion, was voted to finish first with nine first place votes while last season's MAC Tournament Champion Buffalo was picked to finish second with three first place votes. Akron, Bowling Green, Miami and Kent State round out the East Division.

Last season, the Broncos finished 17-15 overall and 8-10 in the MAC, good for fifth in the MAC West. WMU opened up the season 7-3, with all three losses coming against top-25 teams (#24 Michigan State, #20 Northwestern, #8 Mississippi State). The Broncos went on the road and defeated the eventual MAC Tournament Champions in Buffalo (92-78) on Jan. 20, 2016. WMU earned the No. 7 seed in the MAC Tournament, knocking out Northern Illinois in the opening round 94-52, the largest win in the school history in a MAC Tournament game.

WMU will face Alma College on Saturday, Nov. 5 in an exhibition game with tipoff slated for 12:30 p.m. The Brown & Gold will officially open the season on Sunday, Nov. 13 as Davidson comes to Kalamazoo, with tipoff scheduled for 1 p.m.