University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Women's Basketball Picked 8th in Big South Preseason Poll
10.13.2009 | Women's Basketball
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville women's basketball team was picked to finish in eighth place in the Big South Conference's annual preseason poll for the 2009-10 season in a vote of the league's head coaches and media panel.
History was made on the women's side with co-favorites being selected for the first time. Liberty and High Point tied with 160 votes, with the Lady Flames receiving nine first-place votes to the Panthers' seven. Gardner-Webb, last year's tournament runner-up, was picked third with 147 points and the remaining four first-place votes. Coastal Carolina placed fourth with 101 points.
Charleston Southern was predicted fifth (86 points). Winthrop was sixth in the poll with 84 points, followed by Radford (7th, 80 points). UNC Asheville was next with 57 points.
Presbyterian College, which is not eligible for this year's tournament, rounds out the preseason poll with 25 points from the voting panel.
The Bulldogs finished in seventh place last year with a 7-9 league record but were just a game out of third place.
"We're picked about where I thought we would be picked," commented Asheville coach Betsy Blose. "We've been picked low before and been able to rise about that. We'll just have to wait and see what happens.
"We've got some real challenges this year," added Blose. "Where will leadership come from? Who will we count on from day-to-day?"
The Bulldogs return three starters and seven letterwinners from last year's club that finished 10-20. Asheville returns junior forward Lindsey Montgomery who averaged 7.6 points and six rebounds per game last season. Junior guard Kendall Shepard is back as she averaged 6.6 points per game. Also returning is sophomore forward Linda Aughburns. She made the Big South All-Rookie team a year ago and led Asheville in rebounding with a 6.4 mark.
The Bulldogs will be presented to the public this Friday night at Jammin' at the Justice that will run from 6-7 p.m. Asheville's only exhibition game will be on Nov. 6 against Mars Hill at Justice Center. The Bulldogs open the season at home against Newberry on Nov. 14.
