Catawba Picked as South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Favorite, Preseason All-Conference Teams Announced
ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) – Catawba women's basketball has been picked as the favorite to win the 2023-24 South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Championship as voted by the League's head coaches. The Catawba Indians picked up 10 first place votes with 141 total points in the poll.
The Catawba Indians ended their historic 2022-23 season ranked at No. 6 with a program-record 29 wins, first regional title, first appearance in a regional final, Elite Eight and Final Four and matched the program's longest home winning streak at 20. They finished with an overall record of 29-6 and a 16-2 record in conference play.
Carson-Newman is No. 2 in the poll with two first place votes and 124 points. The Eagles closed our the 2022-23 season with a record of 17-12 overall and 12-6 in conference play. Following closely at No. 3 with 122 points was Wingate. The Bulldogs concluded the 2022-23 season with a 23-8 overall record and went 14-4 in conference play.
Earning the No. 4 seed in the preseason poll was Anderson with 106 points. The Trojans recorded an 18-13 overall record and went 10-8 in conference play. Following at No. 5 and just one point behind at 105 was Lenoir-Rhyne. The Bears finished the 2022-23 season with a 24-8 overall record and a 11-7 record in conference play.
Earning the final first place vote at No. 6 with 92 points was Lincoln Memorial. The Railsplitters went 16-12 overall last season and concluded conference play at 9-9. Following at No. 7 with 71 points was Limestone.
Tusculum landed at No. 8 with 63 points, followed by UVA Wise at No. 9 with 57 points. Coker claimed the No. 10 spot with 44 points. Rounding out the poll at No. 11, No. 12, and No. 13 was Newberry with 37 points, Mars Hill with 29 points, and Emory & Henry with 23 points.
The South Atlantic Conference also announced its Preseason All-Conference Teams. First team honors were awarded to Catawba's Janiya Downs and Lyrik Thorne, Lenoir-Rhyne's Blaikley Crooks and Emily Harmon, and Carson-Newman's Lindsey Taylor and Braelyn Wykle.
Earning second team honors were Wingate's Hannah Clark and Emily Hege, Anderson's Diamond McDowell, Catawba's Sara McIntosh, Lincoln Memorial's Alexa Smiddy, and UVA Wise's Caitlyn Ross.
The Preseason All-Conference third team is composed of Lincoln Memorial's Lauren Flowers, Limestone's Kalisha Hill, Coker's Kristynn Knight, Carson-Newman's Campbell Penland, Anderson's Brittney Stafford, and Emory & Henry's Breanna Yarber.
All of the SAC women's basketball games will be streamed live online through FloSports. Links to live video and live stats of all the games, as well as a full schedule of games can be found by visiting the women's basketball page on TheSAC.com.
2023-24 SAC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
Rank School (First Place Votes) Points
1 Catawba (10) 141
2 Carson-Newman (2) 124
3 Wingate 122
4 Anderson 106
5 Lenoir-Rhyne 105
6 Lincoln Memorial (1) 92
7 Limestone 71
8 Tusculum 63
9 UVA Wise 57
10 Coker 44
11 Newberry 37
12 Mars Hill 29
13 Emory & Henry 23
2023-24 South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference
First Team
Janiya Downs, Catawba
Blaikley Crooks, Lenoir-Rhyne
Emily Harman, Lenoir-Rhyne
Lindsey Taylor, Carson-Newman
Lyrik Thorne, Catawba
Braelyn Wykle, Carson-Newman
Second Team
Hannah Clark, Wingate
Emily Hege, Wingate
Diamond McDowell, Anderson
Sara McIntosh, Catawba
Alexa Smiddy, Lincoln Memorial
Caitlyn Ross, Virginia-Wise
Third Team
Lauren Flowers, Lincoln Memorial
Kalisha Hill, Limestone
Kristynn Knight, Coker
Campbell Penland, Carson-Newman
Brittney Stafford, Anderson
Breanna Yarber, Emory & Henry