NEW ORLEANS – As voted by the league's coaches, Appalachian State University women's basketball was picked to finish eighth in the preseason Sun Belt poll on Tuesday.
The Apps are were chosen eighth after finishing 14-16 overall and 9-11 in their first year in the conference. Appalachian was picked eighth last season as well, but ended up finishing a spot higher in seventh place.
“First and foremost, I love our team and I love our process of getting one percent better each and every day,” stated head coach Angel Elderkin. “Preseason rankings and where other people see our team is out of our control. What we can control is how we compete in practice every day to equip us for the challenges that lie ahead. The Sun Belt Conference is a competitive league, when looking back at last season over 60 percent of all conference games were decided by 10 points or less. Our focus and mission will be to compete night in and night out.”
In light of being picked at the bottom half of the conference, junior Joi Jones was named to the All-SBC preseason third team. Jones is returning as the team's leading scorer from last season at an 8.4 scoring clip, while dishing out a team-high 76 assists (2.5 apg).
“Joi Jones will be an important part to our team's overall success this season,” mentioned Elderkin. “She brings experience to our point guard position and we are excited about her continued growth and work ethic. “
For the second-straight season, Arkansas State was picked to finish in first place with 113 votes. Aundrea Gamble was tabbed as the Preseason Player of the Year for a second-consecutive season. Defending SBC Champions Little Rock was picked to finish third with 96 votes, while UT Arlington was voted second with just one more vote (97). UL Lafayette (95 votes) and Troy (86 votes) round out the top five.
App State returns eight players from last season's squad with six newcomers coming in. The Apps will open up the season with an exhibition contest on Nov. 7 against Lenoir-Rhyne before the regular season opener at the Holmes Center against 2015 NCAA Tournament participant Liberty on Friday, Nov. 13 at 11:30 a.m.
All-SBC Preseason First Team
Aundrea Gamble (Arkansas State, Senior, G)
Alexius Dawn (Little Rock, Senior, G)
Keke Veal (UL Lafayette, Senior, G)
Rebekah VanDijk (UT Arlington, Sophomore, C)
Ashley Beverly Kelley (Troy, Senior, G)
All-SBC Preseason Second Team
Khadija Brown-Haywood (Arkansas State, Senior, F)
Makeba Ponder (Georgia State, Soph., G)
Shanity James (Little Rock, Senior, F)
Kia Wilridge (UL Lafayette, Senior, G)
Ayriel Anderson (Texas State, Senior, G)
All-SBC Preseason Third Team
Joi Jones (Appalachian State, Junior, G)
Chyna Ellis (South Alabama, Sophomore, C)
LaShanda Green (UT Arlington, Senior, G)
Cierra Johnson (UT Arlington, Sophomore, G)
Caitlyn Ramirez (Troy, Junior, F)
Preseason Student-Athlete of the Year
Aundrea Gamble (Arkansas State, RS-Senior, Guard)
Predicted Order of Finish (first-place votes in parentheses)
1. Arkansas State (6) - 113 pts
2. UT Arlington (1) - 97 pts
3. Little Rock (2) - 96 pts
4. UL Lafayette (1) - 95 pts
5. Troy (1) - 86 pts
6. Texas State - 66 pts
7. Georgia State - 57 pts
8. Appalachian State - 40 pts
9. UL Monroe - 38 pts
10. South Alabama - 26 pts
