Oct. 29, 2004
Contact: Rick Nixon (210) 458-4551
UTSA women picked to finish fourth by SIDs, fifth by head coaches in Southland Conference Preseason Polls
PLANO, Texas - The University of Texas at San Antonio women's basketball team has been picked to finish in a tie for fourth place in the Southland Conference Preseason Sports Information Directors Poll and fifth by the league's head coaches.
The Roadrunners return seven letterwinners from last year's15-14 team and open their exhibition season on Monday, Nov. 1, against the Houston Jaguars at 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
A single choice for a Southland Conference women's basketball preseason favorite in 2004-05 have the league's head coaches and sports information directors split in their selections. The coaches, who are not allowed to vote for their own teams, have tabbed the University of Texas at Arlington for the conference title while the defending SLC regular-season and tournament champion Northwestern State University got the nod from the SIDs.
The Lady Mavericks received seven first-place votes by the coaches for 95 points, a 10-point cushion over the Lady Demons, who picked up three for first place. In the SIDs' poll, Northwestern State has a five-point advantage with six nods for first place (113 points) while UTA picked up two to finish in second with 108 points.
UTA and the Lady Demons met in the championship game of the SLC tournament last season with Northwestern State clinching its first-ever crown and a second automatic berth to the NCAA. The Lady Mavs made an appearance in the title game for the first time and finished the season strong at 19-12 overall, 11-5 in the SLC.
Northwestern State will feature a familiar, but new face on the sideline this year as Jennifer Graf succeeds James Smith as head coach. Graf, currently one of the youngest head coaches in Division I basketball, has been on the Lady Demon staff the past four years.
Predicted to finish third in both preseason polls is the University of Louisiana at Monroe, which earned one first-place nod by the coaches (77 points) and collected three from the SIDs (100 points). The Lady Indians were the surprise team last year after finishing conference play with a 13-3 mark and earning a No. 2 seed in the league's postseason tournament. ULM's season was cut short when the Lady Indians dropped a 56-53 decision to Texas-Arlington in the semifinal round.
Three teams that were picked to finish in the top three a year ago are split between both preseason polls for fourth through sixth places in 2004-05. The coaches picked Stephen F. Austin State University fourth, the University of Texas at San Antonio for fifth and Texas State University at sixth.
The SIDs, on the other hand, have the Bobcats and the Roadrunners tied for fourth while the Ladyjacks are tabbed sixth.
SFA, UTSA and Texas State advanced to the postseason last year with the Ladyjacks and Bobcats making an early first-round exit while the Roadrunners fell to eventual SLC tournament champion Northwestern State in the semifinals.
The consensus among both voting contingents for the remaining preseason spots has McNeese State University predicted to finish seventh, Sam Houston State University placing eighth, Southeastern Louisiana University at ninth, Lamar University in 10th and Nicholls State University rounding out the polls at 11th.
Last year, McNeese State and Sam Houston State made a trip to the SLC postseason tournament. The Cowgirls finished the season tied for fifth with SFA in the conference standings and lost to UTSA in the first round of the postseason.
The Bearkats, seeded No. 8 in the SLC tournament, came close to upending the Lady Demons in the first round but fell short, 69-61. SHSU closed out its campaign seventh in the conference with an overall 7-21 record and 7-9 in the league.
The madness for women's basketball begins Friday, Nov. 19, with McNeese State kicking off its season at Rice in the Preseason Women's National Invitational Tournament. Conference action gets underway in late December.
The top eight finishers in the regular season will advance to the O'Reilly Auto Parts/Southland Conference Tournament with a shot at the coveted tournament crown and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament. The O'Reilly/SLC Tournament will be held March 7-12, 2005, on campus sites of the higher-seeded teams.
2004-05 SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLLS
Head Coaches Poll
| 1 | Texas-Arlington (7) | 95 |
| 2 | Northwestern State (3) | 85 |
| 3 | Louisiana-Monroe (1) | 77 |
| 4 | Stephen F. Austin | 72 |
| 5 | Texas-San Antonio | 65 |
| 6 | Texas State | 60 |
| 7 | McNeese State | 51 |
| 8 | Sam Houston State | 43 |
| 9 | Southeastern Louisiana | 27 |
| 10 | Lamar | 19 |
| 11 | Nicholls State | 11 |
(Coaches could not vote for their own teams.)
Sports Information Directors Poll
| 1 | Northwestern State (6) | 113 |
| 2 | Texas-Arlington (2) | 108 |
| 3 | Louisiana-Monroe (3) | 100 |
| 4 | Texas-San Antonio | 72 |
| Texas State | 72 | |
| 6 | Stephen F. Austin | 71 |
| 7 | McNeese State | 68 |
| 8 | Sam Houston State | 46 |
| 9 | Southeastern Louisiana | 39 |
| 10 | Lamar | 23 |
| 11 | Nicholls State | 14 |