SPARTANBURG, SC - The Southern Conference women’s basketball coaches picked UNC Greensboro third, while the media picked the Spartans sixth, in the preseason polls announced at SoCon Basketball Media Day held Monday.
The coaches’ preseason all-conference selections were also announced and UNCG’s Kristen Boone and Jasmine Byrd were also vote onto the 10 player preseason all-conference squad.
Chattanooga was a unanimous selection to win the conference in both polls. The Lady Mocs received nine of the 10 first-place votes in the coaches poll (coaches do not vote for their own teams) and all of the first-place votes in the media poll.
Georgia Southern was picked to finish second in both polls. Head coach Rusty Cram, who is one win shy of 100 conference victories, returns nine players from last year’s team, including preseason All-SoCon pick Nicole Newton. The coaches selected UNC Greensboro to finish third in 2005-06 while the media selected Davidson in the third slot. Furman earned the fourth spot in both polls.
Western Carolina was picked to finish tied with Davidson in the fifth while the media picked Western Carolina to finish fifth. UNC Greensboro finished sixth in the media poll, followed by Appalachian State, College of Charleston , Elon and Wofford. The coaches selected the College of Charleston to finish seventh, followed by Appalachian State, Elon and Wofford.
Eight schools were represented on the preseason all-conference team, which features preseason Player of the Year Katasha Brown from Chattanooga. Brown was the 2004 Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Player at the 2004 Women’s Basketball Championships, becoming only the second player in league history to record both honors in the same season. In 2005, Brown earned All-SoCon honors once again from the media and the coaches.
UNCG’s Boone, who was the 2005 Freshman of the Year, was the national leader in steals last year with 121, an average of 4.3 per game.
Chattanooga and UNC Greensboro were the only two schools to place multiple players on the preseason team, as Tiffani Roberson and Nicole Mattison joined Brown for the Lady Mocs. Also named to the team were Kiki Conyers of Appalachian State, Marketta Talley from College of Charleston, Tommi Paris of Furman, Georgia Southern’s Nicole Newton, and Chevon Keith from Western Carolina.
AGATE
2005-06 Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll: 1. Chattanooga (9), 81; 2. Georgia Southern (1), 70; 3. UNC Greensboro, 59; 4. Furman, 55; t-5. Davidson, 44; t-5. Western Carolina, 44; 7. College of Charleston, 39; 8. Appalachian State, 32; 9. Elon, 14; 10. Wofford, 12.
2005-06 Southern Conference Women’s Basketball Media Preseason Poll: 1. Chattanooga (19), 190; 2. Georgia Southern, 143; 3. Davidson, 140; 4. Furman, 138; 5. Western Carolina, 109; 6. UNC Greensboro, 99; 7. Appalachian State, 80; 8. College of Charleston, 78; 9. Elon, 40; 10. Wofford, 28.
2005-06 Women’s Basketball Coaches Preseason All-Conference Team: Kiki Conyers, Appalachian State; Marketta Talley, College of Charleston; Katasha Brown, Chattanooga; Tiffani Roberson, Chattanooga; Nicole Mattison, Chattanooga; Tommi Paris, Furman; Nicole Newton, Georgia Southern; Jasmine Byrd, UNC Greensboro; Kristen Boone, UNC Greensboro; Chevon Keith, Western Carolina.
Preseason Player of the Year: Katasha Brown, Chattanooga
- UNCG -