Marist and Quinnipiac Tie as Women's Basketball Favorites in Preseason Poll
MAAC Sports
EDISON, N.J. – Marist College and Quinnipiac University have been selected as co-preseason favorites in the 2015 Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Women’s Basketball preseason polls, according to a vote of the 11 head coaches. The Red Foxes who have appeared in the last 11 MAAC Championship title games received five of 11 first place votes and 112 points, while the Bobcats who appeared in the MAAC Championship title game during their first season of MAAC competition received four of 11 first place votes and 112 points.
Picked to finish third was Iona, who received 106 total points and the final two first place votes. Fairfield finished fourth with 81 points, followed by fifth place Niagara who earned 75 points. Rider finished with 58 points in sixth, followed by Manhattan (49), Canisius (44), Monmouth (43), Siena (34) and Saint Peter’s (12).
Marist College was named MAAC regular season co-champions in 2013-14 after posting an 18-2 league record and 27-7 overall mark. The Red Foxes are coming off of their ninth consecutive MAAC championship and 11th consecutive 20 win season. Marist has also had nine consecutive NCAA post-season appearances. The Red Foxes ranked third in scoring in the MAAC in 2013-14 and ranked first in defense, giving up just over 60 points per game. Marist returns junior forward/guard Madeline Blais, who was a member of the All-MAAC Second team during the 2013-14 season after averaging 12.9 points per game, which ranked her 10th in the MAAC. Blais will be joined by fellow classmate, guard Sydney Coffey who was named the 2013-14 MAAC Championship team MVP and averaged 11.5 points per game to go along with 2.4 assists.
Quinnipiac University, which tied for first place in the poll, is coming off of its inaugural campaign in the MAAC with a regular season record of 21-13, 14-6 in MAAC play. The Bobcats return 2013-14 All-MAAC First Team member senior guard Jasmine Martin. Martin averaged 15.0 points per game ranking fifth overall in the MAAC and returns as the third highest scorer in the league. Also returning for Quinnipiac is 2014 MAAC All-Championship team member Samantha Guastella who averaged 11.1 points and 2013-14 All-MAAC Third team selection Gillian Abshire who averaged 7.1 points per game and a league leading 6.6 assists.
Iona College, was selected third after being named 2013-14 MAAC regular season co-champions and posting an 18-2 MAAC record and 26-6 overall record. The Gaels top returning player is 2013 and 2014 MAAC Player of the Year Damika Martinez who has led the league in scoring the past three seasons. Martinez, an All-MAAC First team member, averaged a league best 24.9 points per game raking her as the top returning scorer in the nation. Joining Martinez is junior forward Joy Adams who ranks first in the league in rebounds averaging 13.8 per game and was an All-MAAC First team selection as well. Adams averages 16.8 points per contest.
Picked fourth are the Fairfield Stags who were 15-5 in the MAAC and appeared in the quarterfinals during the 2014 championship. The Stags are coming off of their second consecutive season with a postseason win in the WBI. The Stags will be led by senior guard Felicia DaCruz and junior guard Kristin Schatzlein. DaCruz finished the season ranked fourth nationally in assist-turnover ratio at a mark of 3.31 and ranked third in the league in assists with 5.4 per game. DaCruz played 34.9 minutes per contest and averaged 7.3 points per game. Schatzlein added 9.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.
Rounding out the top five is Niagara University, who finished with a league record of 8-12, and an overall mark of 10-20. The Purple Eagles ranked fourth in the league in scoring averaging 64.9 point per game and are coming off of their third consecutive season with at least eight conference wins. Returning for Niagara is 2013-14 All-MAAC Second Team selection Meghan McGuinness who tied for 10th in the league in scoring averaging 12.9 points per contest. Joining McGuinness is fellow senior Val McQuade and 2013-14 Rookie of the year Victoria Rampado. McQuade averaged 8.5 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game for the year while Rampado finished with 8.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per contest.
2014-15 Coaches Preseason Poll
|
T1.
|
Marist
|
112
|
|
T1.
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Quinnipiac
|
112
|
|
3.
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Iona
|
106
|
|
4.
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Fairfield
|
81
|
|
5.
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Niagara
|
75
|
|
6.
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Rider
|
58
|
|
7.
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Manhattan
|
49
|
|
8.
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Canisius
|
44
|
|
9.
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Monmouth
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43
|
|
10.
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Siena
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34
|
|
11.
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Saint Peter’s
|
12
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