GC Pride Women’s Basketball Picked Third In USA South Coaches Poll

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Greensboro College, under the direction of Head Coach Randy Tuggle in his sixth year, was picked third in the preseason coaches poll. As for the North Division, Ferrum College was at the top with the Pride coming in close second to the Panthers.

Last season the Pride finished with an overall mark of 20-6 while going 16-3 in USA South Athletic Conference play. The Pride are slated to return ten players from last season’s team including USA South All-Conference performer Shanita Hampton.

In the overall voting, Maryville ranked first, followed by Ferrum and Greensboro College. The head coaches do not vote for their own team in the preseason poll process.

Each divisional preseason poll only includes votes from coaches within that particular division while voting for the overall preseason poll includes votes from each coach in the Conference. This is the second season that the Conference will split into divisions in the sport of women’s basketball.

In the South Division, Maryville, the defending divisional champions, received four of the five available first place votes and 16 points. Piedmont College was picked second with 12 points and the final remaining first place vote while LaGrange College grabbed the third place spot with 10 points to round out the top-half of the divisional poll.

The women’s basketball regular season gets underway on Saturday, November 15, 2014 as travel to take on the Wasps of Emory & Henry at 5:30 PM. The game will be played on the campus of North Carolina Wesleyan College.

The 2015 USA South Tournament will head back to campus sites as the top seeded team will host all three of its rounds. The tournament will begin on Thursday, February 26 and conclude on Saturday, February 28. If the host institution’s men’s team also earns the right to host, the women’s tournament will shift to Wednesday-Friday, February 25-27. The top-five seeded teams from the North Division and the top-three seeded teams from the South Division, after the conclusion of regular season competition, will advance to the tournament. The hosting rights of the tournament will be given to the team owning the highest overall Conference win-loss percentage, including both divisions.

2014-15 USA South Women’s Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
Overall Voting

Rank    Institution (1st Place Votes)    Pts.
1.      Maryville (8)                    140
2.      Ferrum (4)                       129
3.      Greensboro (1)                   113
4.      Methodist                        109
5.      Piedmont                          99
6.      LaGrange                          92
7.      Huntingdon                        79
8.      N.C. Wesleyan                     65
9.      Meredith                          61
10.     Averett                           54
11.     Covenant                          35
12.     William Peace                     25
13.     Mary Baldwin                      13