ROCK HILL, S.C. – The South Atlantic Conference announced its preseason coaches' poll Tuesday morning with the Carson-Newman Lady Eagles picked to finish fifth despite receiving three first-place votes.
"Obviously we're not going to read into a preseason poll," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "You have coaches picking it so what do you take from it? We already think we are pretty good. We return a lot of players from last year that had some success and went to the NCAA Tournament. For us it's kind of motivation honestly. We have three coaches that think we are pretty good and then you have some coaches that think we are in the middle. I can guarantee you one thing we are not down at the bottom of our conference. We are one of the top half teams of our conference."
Mincey's group finished the 2014-15 season fifth in a league that placed five teams in the NCAA Tournament. The Lady Eagles earned the No. 7 seed in the Southeast Regional part of the NCAA Tournament finishing the year with a 19-11 overall record and a 13-9 mark in conference action. Carson-Newman's comeback bid fell short against second-seeded Columbus State in a 58-40 loss.
"Last year they got a taste of the NCAA Tournament," Mincey said. "I know they really want to get back there and do it again. The seniors have been good leaders because they know this is their last rodeo. If they don't get it done this year they'll never have another opportunity to do it."
The Lady Eagles return four starters from the 2014-15 team and 12 letterwinners while bringing in a trio of newcomers. The three departing seniors from a year ago were known for their defensive prowess.
Lacy Miller was a reserve point guard that missed the final 11 games of the season with a knee injury. Miller racked up 151 assists and averaged 3.4 points during her career. Jassmine Franklin averaged 4.3 points and 3.1 rebounds a night with 48 blocks in two seasons at Mossy Creek. Finally Whitney Kyle averaged 7.1 points per game as a senior and set the program record by converting 90 percent of her free throw attempts.
Carson-Newman returns 73 percent of its scoring and 67 percent of its rebounding to a group that has plenty of experience. Four seniors and three juniors lead the returning group including leading scorer and preseason first-team All-SAC selection Tatum Burstrom. The senior is one of three players named to a preseason All-SAC team joining second-team picks sophomore forward Jecca Simerly (Talbott, Tenn.) and senior guard Jai Jai McLaughlin (Knoxville, Tenn.).
"We are in a situation this year with our roster where we feel like there are two things that can derail us and that's injuries and potentially bad chemistry in the locker room," Mincey said. "The chemistry right now is really good. It's just a matter of once we get our rotation down is everyone going to play their role like they should? I think honestly last year if we didn't have injuries to our starting point guard and our backup point guard we would have had a better year than 19-11. I have a lot of confidence in our kids. We have a really good team. There are just going to be games where I'm going to have better players than who we are playing."
Defending regular season champion Anderson (S.C.) was picked to win the SAC receiving more first-place votes, four, than any other team after a 27-5 record and a 20-2 mark in SAC action. The Trojans were the No. 3 seed in the Southeast Region in 2015 and fell in the Southeast Region title game to top-seeded Limestone 72-38. Anderson loses the reigning Player of the Year in Sierra Simpson who averaged 10.7 points, 5.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game.
Wingate slides into the second spot in the coaches' poll tied with Catawba with 112 points but garnered three first-place votes to one for the Indians. The Bulldogs finished one-game behind Anderson and five games clear of third-place Newberry a year ago earning the fifth-seed in the Southeast Region. The Bulldogs picked up a victory over No. 4 seed Lander 72-57 before falling to Limestone 77-66. Chantal Dunbar, the team's leading scorer last season, has graduated but preseason first-team All-SAC pick, Morgan McGee returns to lead the way.
Catawba finished fourth last season with an 18-12 record and a 14-8 mark in league action winning nine of its final 11 contests leading up to the NCAA Tournament. Catawba was the No. 8 seed and fell to top-seeded Limestone 76-62 in the opening round of the Southeast Regional Tournament. Jada Huntley is gone after averaging 14.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.1 steals per night last season.
The final of five teams to earn a first-place vote, Newberry, comes in at No. 4 in the coaches' poll after taking the No. 6 seed in the Southeast Region in 2015. Anderson knocked out the Wolves in the first round with a 69-57 victory. One of the most decorated players in Newberry's history, Haylee Lepaio, has graduated. Lepaio broke the program's all-time scoring record en route to the 2015 SAC Tournament Championship. The Wolves do return preseason All-American Samantha Creed, the fourth-leading scorer in the SAC a year ago with a 16.6 points per game average.
Lenoir-Rhyne is pegged right below Carson-Newman at sixth looking to replace one of the top players in the league over the last couple of seasons, Jasmine Charles. The guard was second in the conference averaging 17.5 points per game.
After an average 2014-15 with an overall record of 14-15 and 11-11 in SAC play, Lincoln Memorial is tabbed seventh. The Railsplitters were great at home last year going 11-3, but were 3-12 away from the friendly confines.
Mars Hill earns the eighth spot in the preseason poll but arguably has the biggest shoes to fill of any team in the league after the graduation of Camille Glymph. The leading scorer in the league and second-leading scorer in the nation with 23.8 points per game scored 20 or more points 18 times a year ago.
The bottom four in the league is projected to finish the exact same way the 2014-15 season standings finished with Coker, Brevard, Tusculum and Queens at the bottom.
The only one of those teams to have a representative on a preseason All-SAC team is Brevard as the Tornados place two players on the list. Guards Katie Williams and Madison Lenox were both pinned to the first team after finishing third and fifth respectively in points per game last season. The duo combined to score 52 percent of Brevard's points last season.
Carson-Newman begins its season with an exhibition contest at Thompson-Boling Arena against the University of Tennessee Lady Volunteers on November 9 at 5 p.m. Broadcast coverage will begin 15 minutes prior to the opening tip on the Eagle Sports Network's flagship station Mountain Country 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
2015 Women's Hoops Preseason Poll
1. Anderson (4) 117
2. Wingate (3) 112
3. Catawba (1) 112
4. Newberry (1) 107
5. Carson-Newman (3) 106
6. Lenoir-Rhyne 82
7. Lincoln Memorial 78
8. Mars Hill 60
9. Coker 43
10. Brevard 41
11. Tusculum 37
12. Queens 29
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