After earning Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year last
season, FIU junior guard Jerica Coley was named SBC Preseason Player of the
Year, while Middle Tennessee was picked to win the SBC East Division and
UALR was tabbed to win the SBC West, the league office announced Tuesday.
Coley, a native of St. Petersburg, Fla., led the conference in both points
(23.4) and blocks (1.9) per game last season. Averaging 39.4 minutes a
game, Coley was a huge contributor to a Panthers team that finished third
in the conference and reached the semifinals of the SBC Championship last
season. The Panthers received one first-place vote in the SBC East Division
this season and are predicted to finish second.
MT, which received 10 first-place votes in the SBC East Division, had three
players earn Preseason All-SBC First-Team accolades. The Blue Raiders won
the SBC East Division title in 2011-12 with a perfect 16-0 record and
advanced to the NCAA Tournament. MT returns 10 letter winners from last
season, including SBC Preseason First Team selections Ebony Rowe, Icelyn
Elie and Kortni Jones.
Rowe, a junior forward, led the SBC in offensive rebounds (5.7), steals
(2.4) and field goal percentage (.545) last season. She averaged a
double-double as she also brought down 10.1 rebounds a game.
Elie, a senior forward, finished second in offensive rebounding with 3.5
per game, fifth in free throw percentage (.758) and ninth in scoring
(13.7). Both Elie and Rowe were First-Team All-SBC selections last season.
Blue Raider senior guard Kortni Jones completed the Preseason All-SBC
first-team trio after draining a league-high 115 three-pointers and
shooting .350 from beyond the arc last season. She posted 16.8 points per
game, second best in conference, and her 1.2 assist to turnover ratio
ranked third in the SBC.
UALR sophomore guard Taylor Gault rounded out the Preseason All-SBC
first-team after earning SBC Freshman of the Year and First Team All-SBC
honors last season. She registered 16.0 points per game in 2011-12 and
finished in the top-15 in both steals (1.7) and blocks (0.8) per contest.
Gault will look to lead UALR to its third consecutive SBC Tournament title
after the Trojans knocked off the Blue Raiders 71-70 in overtime last
season in the finals. The 2011-12 Trojans made their third-consecutive NCAA
Tournament appearance and reached the 20-win mark for the sixth-consecutive
season. UALR also finished atop the Sun Belt's West Division for the
fifth-consecutive year.
Arkansas State received the final first-place vote in the SBC West and was
predicted to finish second. The Red Wolves return four starters, including
junior forward Jane Morrill who was named to the Preseason All-SBC
second-team. Morrill led the team in scoring with 16.2 points per game and
also led the team with nearly 5.5 rebounds a game.
In addition to seven regular-season games televised on the Sun Belt
Network, ESPN3 will air four contests including Western Kentucky's matchup
against the Blue Raiders on Jan. 27 and South Alabama's contest against MT
on Feb. 20. The SBC Network will also televise two quarterfinal games and
both semifinal matchups at the SBC Championship, and the finals will be
nationally televised on ESPNU.
Now in its fourth season, the Sun Belt Network is a joint partnership with
Comcast/Charter Sports Southeast (CSS) and Cox Sports Television (CST).
Each game will be available in 13 states across the southeast and is often
available on ESPN3.com and ESPN GamePlan outside of the CSS and CST
markets. The agreement with CSS and CST has resulted in the broadcasting of
football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, volleyball, and
softball contests throughout the last three seasons. In whole, the Sun Belt
Network has been responsible for over 100 events airing on CSS and CST over
the past three seasons.
*2012-13 Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference First Team*
Taylor Gault (UALR, Sophomore, Guard)
Jerica Coley (FIU, Junior, Guard)
Icelyn Elie (Middle Tennessee, Senior, Forward)
Kortni Jones (Middle Tennessee, Senior, Guard)
Ebony Rowe (Middle Tennessee, Junior, Forward)
*2012-13 Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Second Team*
Taylor Ford (UALR, Junior, Guard)
Jane Morrill (Arkansas State, Junior, Forward)
Chenise Miller (Florida Atlantic, RS-Junior, Forward)
Finda Mansare (FIU, Senior, Forward)
Mansa El (South Alabama, Senior, Guard)
*2012-13 Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Third Team*
Janette Merriex (UALR, Senior, Guard/Forward)
Jasmine Shaw (Louisiana-Monroe, Junior, Guard)
Mary Nixon (South Alabama, Senior, Guard)
Chastity Gooch (WKU, Sophomore, Forward)
Alexis Govan (WKU, Sophomore, Guard)
*2012-13 Women's Basketball Preseason Player of the Year*
Jerica Coley (FIU, Junior, Guard)
*2012-13 Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll*
*First Place Votes in Parentheses*
*EAST DIVISION*
1. Middle Tennessee - 65 pts (10)
2. FIU - 54 pts (1)
3. South Alabama - 45 pts
4. Florida Atlantic - 29 pts
5. WKU - 26 pts
6. Troy - 12 pts
*WEST DIVISION*
1. UALR - 54 pts (10)
2. Arkansas State - 39 pts (1)
3. North Texas - 33 pts
4. Louisiana-Monroe - 24 pts
5. Louisiana-Lafayette - 15 pts
*2012-13 Sun Belt Composite Women's Basketball Schedule*
*Date
Game
Time Network*
11/11/2012 Memphis or Grambling at Middle Tennessee 2
p.m. ESPN3
12/6/2012 Xavier at Middle
Tennessee 7
p.m. ESPN3
12/11/2012 Louisiana-Monroe at
Texas 7
p.m. Longhorn Network
1/10/2013 Louisiana-Monroe at
Troy 12
p.m. Sun Belt Network
1/12/2013 FIU at
UALR
1 p.m. Sun Belt Network
1/26/2013 Florida Atlantic at Arkansas
State 5 p.m.
Sun Belt Network
1/27/2013 Western Kentucky vs. Middle
Tennessee 2 p.m. ESPN3
2/9/2013 Florida Atlantic at South
Alabama 5 p.m.
Sun Belt Network
2/16/2013 North Texas at
Troy 5
p.m. Sun Belt Network
2/20/2013 South Alabama vs. Middle
Tennessee 7 p.m. ESPN3
2/23/2013 WKU at
Louisiana-Lafayette 5
p.m. Sun Belt Network
3/2/2013 Middle Tennessee at Western
Kentucky 11 a.m. Sun Belt Network
3/9/2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship Quarterfinals 12
p.m. Sun Belt Network
3/9/2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship Quarterfinals
2:30 p.m. Sun Belt Network
3/10/2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship Semifinals
12 p.m. Sun Belt Network
3/10/2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship Semifinals
2:30 p.m. Sun Belt Network
3/11/2013 Sun Belt Conference Championship
Final 1 p.m. ESPNU