ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Carson-Newman Lady Eagles were picked fourth in the South Atlantic Conference preseason coaches poll the league announced today.
"I think it's a fair assessment of where we are right now as a team," head coach Mike Mincey said. "I believe this is the highest we've been selected in quite some time. Certainly we want to be No. 1 at the end and there are a lot of good teams in our league trying to get to that spot."
Fourth place is where Carson-Newman finished at the end of the 2013-14 season. The Eagles hosted a game in the SAC Women's Basketball Championship Quarterfinals defeating Catawba 82-68 before falling to the conference's top seed, Lenoir-Rhyne, 75-74 in the Semifinals.
Mincey's squad returns its top two scorers in preseason All-SAC second team selections Tatum Burstrom (Maryville, Tenn.) and Kaitlyn Cupples (Clinton, Tenn.). The loss of Chante' Markus and Lashawnda Peacher leave a gap in the Eagles backcourt, but the team is well-balanced with eight juniors or seniors on the roster.
"I think we need to be a lot more consistent than we were last year," Mincey said of what it will take to surge to a higher finish. "We talk about that six-game losing streak that we had. I think we were 9-2 at that point and lost some critical games at home. The team that is consistent throughout the year is probably going to be the team that wins it."
Despite losing two top scoring threats, Carson-Newman returns four of its five starters with junior guard Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.) and senior forward Whitney Kyle (Jefferson City, Tenn.) back.
The Eagles return its top three rebounders, top three players in assists, top three players in terms of field goal percentage and its top four players in terms of minutes played.
The Wingate Bulldogs were picked to win the conference after finishing 24-6 with a 17-5 SAC mark a season ago. Wingate won the SAC Women's Basketball Championship and earned an automatic bid to the 2014 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship where the No. 3 seed in the region feel to Belmont Abbey in the first round.
Despite finishing sixth last season, the Newberry Wolves were picked to finish second after going 15-12 and 11-11 in the SAC last year.
The regular season co-champion Lenoir-Rhyne Bears were tabbed third while picking up a pair of first place votes. The Bears return All-American Jazmine Charles who was the league's and Southeast Region Player of the Year last season.
After Carson-Newman, Lincoln Memorial, Anderson and Catawba were picked fifth, sixth and seventh respectively. The Railsplitters finished third last season while the Indians tied with the Eagles for fourth place.
Rounding out the group was Coker, Tusculum, Mars Hill, Brevard and Queens, the exact way those five teams finished the 2013-14 season.
Carson-Newman begins its season next Wednesday at North Carolina for an exhibition slated to start at 6 p.m. from Chapel Hill, N.C.
Women's Preseason Poll - Points
1. Wingate – 123
2. Newberry – 114
3. Lenoir-Rhyne – 109
4. Carson-Newman – 102
5. Lincoln Memorial – 91
6. Anderson – 88
7. Catawba – 75
8. Coker – 67
9. Tusculum – 54
10. Mars Hill – 42
11. Brevard – 33
12. Queens - 26
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