Stephen F. Austin Slated to Win Southland in Preseason Polls
FRISCO, Texas – The Stephen F. Austin Ladyjacks have been selected as the preseason favorite to win the Southland Conference by a vote of the league’s coaches and sports information directors for the second consecutive season, the conference office announced Wednesday.
The Ladyjacks are projected to claim the regular-season title by gathering 142 points and 11 first-place votes from the coaches and 137 points and nine first-place votes from the SIDs. Stephen F. Austin leads all schools with 16 regular-season championship and looks to make its 24th postseason appearance in school history. SFA returns 10 letterwinners, including three starters from last season’s squad.
SFA welcomes back its leading scorer in all-conference first-team selection Porsha Roberts. The senior from Waco, Texas paced the Ladyjacks with 17.0 points per game while shooting .563 percent from the floor. Roberts also led the league in offensive rebounds pulling down 153 boards last season.
After slated to finish eighth in last season’s poll, the Northwestern State Lady Demons made a run to win the Southland Conference Women’s Basketball Tournament title, altering the minds of the league’s coaches and SIDs heading into the 2014-15 campaign. The Lady Demons gathered 116 points and the final two first-place votes in the coaches’ poll for second and tied for second in the SID poll with Lamar as they each calculated 115 points. The Lady Demons also picked up two first-place nods from the SIDs. The Lady Cardinals finished in a close third in the coaches’ poll with 114 points.
The coaches selected Central Arkansas and McNeese State to finish fourth with 99 points. The league’s SIDs also had a tie for fourth, but they project the Sugar Bears, who earned the final first-place tally, will be joined by Nicholls as each team tallied 107 points with McNeese State dropping to sixth with 92 points. The coaches’ sixth place slot went to Nicholls, also with 92 points.
The coaches and SIDs were in agreement as the second half of the poll-voting rounded out. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is slated to finish seventh with 82 points from the coaches and 79 from the SIDs. After just one season as a Southland member, Abilene Christian is picked eighth. Houston Baptist is slated in the ninth position, while Sam Houston State is tabbed 10th.
Southeastern Louisiana is expected to finish 11th in the league followed by UIW in 12th and New Orleans rounding out the projections in 13th.
After transitioning to Division I, Abilene Christian and UIW were eligible for preseason polls for the first time, but are not eligible for postseason play until the 2017-18 season.
The top eight teams with the highest winning percentage during conference action will earn berths to the 2015 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament March 12-15, at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.
2014-15 Women’s Basketball Preseason Polls
|
Coaches’ Poll |
|
|
|
Place |
Team (first place votes) |
Total |
|
1. |
Stephen F. Austin (11) |
142 |
|
2. |
Northwestern State (2) |
116 |
|
3. |
Lamar |
114 |
|
T4. |
Central Arkansas |
99 |
|
T4. |
McNeese State |
99 |
|
6. |
Nicholls |
92 |
|
7. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
82 |
|
8. |
Abilene Christian |
73 |
|
9. |
Houston Baptist |
68 |
|
10. |
Sam Houston State |
53 |
|
11. |
Southeastern Louisiana |
38 |
|
12. |
UIW |
28 |
|
13. |
New Orleans |
12 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
SID Poll |
|
|
|
Place |
Team (first place votes) |
Total |
|
1. |
Stephen F. Austin (9) |
137 |
|
T2. |
Lamar |
115 |
|
T2. |
Northwestern State (3) |
115 |
|
T4. |
Central Arkansas (1) |
107 |
|
T4. |
Nicholls |
107 |
|
6. |
McNeese State |
92 |
|
7. |
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi |
79 |
|
8. |
Abilene Christian |
72 |
|
9. |
Houston Baptist |
60 |
|
10. |
Sam Houston State |
56 |
|
11. |
Southeastern Louisiana |
43 |
|
12. |
UIW |
26 |
|
13. |
New Orleans |
12 |