Women's Basketball: Mountaineers Picked 9th
October 26, 2006 01:12 PM | General
October 26, 2006
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – The West Virginia University women’s basketball team is going to have to prove to Big East coaches that their run through the Big East tournament last year wasn’t a fluke.
The Mountaineers were predicted to finish ninth by league coaches in preseason polling announced today in New York City.
Perennial Big East favorite Connecticut was once again predicted to win the league. The Huskies have won the Big East regular season title 14 times and have captured 13 conference tournament championships.
Last year’s regular season champion Rutgers was predicted to finish second, followed by DePaul, Louisville, Pitt, St. John’s South Florida and Marquette.
After West Virginia at nine are Villanova, Notre Dame, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Providence, Syracuse and Seton Hall.
Connecticut earned 11 of the 16 first-place votes with Rutgers getting the remaining five.
The top 12 teams qualify for the Big East tournament to be played at the Hartford Civic Center, March 3-6.
The preseason all-Big East team was also announced today. No West Virginia players were named to the 11-player unit.
West Virginia returns all five starters from last year’s 15-16 team that nearly upset its way to the NCAA tournament. The Mountaineers, without all-Big East guard Meg Bulger, knocked off Louisville, St. John’s and Rutgers to get to the Big East tournament finals where they lost to Connecticut.
The Mountaineers will once again be without Bulger this season; the senior injured her knee during preseason conditioning and will redshirt this year.
Six-two center Olayinka Sanni is the team’s top returning scorer averaging 12.4 points per game. Sanni spent a month earlier this fall playing for the Nigerian National Team in the Women’s World Championships in Brazil.
Junior forward Chakhia Cole averaged 11.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game as a sophomore and provides a presence in the paint. Guards Britney Davis-White and LaQuita Owens averaged 9 and 7.1 points per game respectively.
The Mountaineers are also looking for production from a couple of newcomers in Auburn transfer Sparkle Davis and Michigan State transfer Melanie Small.
West Virginia opens the regular season on Sunday, Nov. 12, at LSU. The Mountaineers will also have games in Baton Rouge against Virginia Tech and Howard.
West Virginia opens at home against Wofford on Saturday, Nov. 18, at 6:30 pm.
Big East Preseason Coaches’ Poll
1. Connecticut (221)
2. Rutgers (215)
3. DePaul (179)
4. Louisville (176)
5. Pitt (152)
6. St. John’s (148)
7. South Florida (136)
8. Marquette (123)
9. West Virginia (117)
10. Villanova (110)
11. Notre Dame (108)
12. Cincinnati (82)
13. Georgetown (57)
14. Providence (45)
15. Syracuse (30)
16. Seton Hall (21)
