WBB Picked 8th in Preseason Poll

The Central Connecticut women's basketball team was picked to finish eighth in the annual poll of the Northeast Conference's head coaches.  The Blue Devils finished last season tied for ninth in the NEC with a 7-11 record in the NEC and a 13-16 mark overall.  The poll was announced at the NEC "Social" Media Day held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.

WATCH REPLAY OF NEC SOCIAL MEDIA DAY

Buy Tickets!

Quinnipiac enters the year as the preseason favorite with seven first place votes.  Defending champion Sacred Heart was picked to finish second with four first place votes and last season's runner-up Monmouth was placed third with one first place vote.  Saint Francis (PA), Robert Morris, LIU Brooklyn and Mount St. Mary's filled places four through seven and CCSU, eighth, completes the projected playoff field.  Bryant, Fairleigh Dickinson, St. Francis (NY) and Wagner round out the group.

Preseason Poll
1.   Quinnipiac (7)
2.   Sacred Heart (4)
3.   Monmouth (1)
4.   Saint Francis (PA)
5.   Robert Morris
6.   LIU Brooklyn
7.   Mount St.Mary's
8.   Central Connecticut
9.   Bryant
10. Fairleigh Dickinson
11. St. Francis (NY)
12. Wagner

The preseason All-NEC team was also selected by the leagues's coaches and features Artemis Spanour(Robert Morris), Felicia Barron (Quinnipiac), Alysha Womack (Monmouth), Alli Williams (Saint Francis (PA)) and Gabby Washington (Sacred Heart).

Head coach Beryl Piper enters 2012-13 with a veteran squad that returns 95% of the team's scoring from a year ago.

"It's what happens at the end of the season that matters.  You could be ranked first and have a down year," Piper said. "We talked to the kids yesterday, its not about where people pick us or think about us, it is about what we do every day at practice.  About how hard we are working and preparing for conference play."

Second Team All-NEC  selection senior Jaclyn Babe leads the group of returning starters.  She averaged 15.9 points per game last season.

Defensively, senior Kirsten Daamen, the school's all-time leader in blocks, and junior Jessica Babe, the top returning rebounder (7.2/game), will lead the squad.

The season will begin on November 9, when the Blue Devils travel to Rhode Island.  CCSU will open its home schedule on November 13, against Massachusetts.