Limestone Named Favorite to Capture 2016-17 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Championship
HIGH POINT, N.C. – The Limestone College Saints have been voted the preseason favorites once again to win the Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Championship, the Conference announced today. The Saints, the No. 9 team in the Division II Bulletin Preseason Poll, received nine first-place votes and 99 points from the conference’s coaches.
The Saint enters the 2016-17 season looking for a sixth consecutive Conference Carolinas regular season championship. The Saints have gone unbeaten in league play in each of the last two seasons, combining for a 44-0 league mark during that time, and have posted an impressive 62-game win streak overall against conference foes. Limestone posted a 30-1 overall record in 2015-16, which included a 30-0 regular season mark.
After a 2015-16 campaign that saw the University of Mount Olive finish the season 19-11 overall and 16-6 in conference play, The Trojans enter the season ranked second in the Conference Carolinas preseason coaches poll. The Trojans tallied 88 points in the poll and will look to dethrone conference juggernaut Limestone in 2016-17.
King University enters the season ranked third in the coaches poll with 84 points, including two first-place votes. The Tornado advanced to the Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Championship finals for the first time in program history in 2015-16, narrowly falling to reigning champion Limestone. King turned in a 19-12 overall record and 16-6 record in Conference Carolinas play and look to make another run at a conference title in 2016-17.
Erskine College is picked to finish 2016-17 fourth with 72 points, while Barton College enters the season in fifth with 62 points.
The Fleet went 16-14 overall record in 2015-16, including 14-8 in Conference Carolinas. The Bulldogs finished last season 14-16 overall and 12-10 in conference play.
Belmont Abbey College garnered 55 points to place sixth in the poll, with North Greenville University's 41 points edging Converse College's 39 for seventh and eighth, respectively.
Belmont Abbey turned in an 8-21 record a season ago, which included a 7-15 mark in Conference Carolinas play. North Greenville went 11-19 overall and 9-13 in Conference play. The Valkyries were 7-19 overall and 6-16 in league contests.
Rounding out the poll at ninth, 10th and 11th are Pfeiffer University, Lees-McRae College and Southern Wesleyan University, respectively.
The Falcons posted a 8-19 overall record and 7-15 mark in Conference play, while the Bobcats went 8-21 and 7-15 in Conference Carolinas contests. The Warriors were 5-23 overall last season and 2-20 in league play.
The 2016-17 Conference Carolinas women's basketball season begins on Friday, Nov. 11.
2016-17 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
| School (first-place votes) |
Total |
| 1. Limestone (9) |
99 |
| 2. Mount Olive |
88 |
| 3. King (2) |
84 |
| 4. Erskine |
72 |
| 5. Barton |
66 |
| 6. Belmont Abbey |
55 |
| 7. North Greenville |
41 |
| 8. Converse |
39 |
| 9. Pfeiffer |
28 |
| 10. Lees-McRae |
23 |
| 11. Southern Wesleyan |
14 |
2016-17 Conference Carolinas Women's Basketball Players to Watch:
Guards (Year):
Morgan Midkiff (Sr.) - Belmont Abbey
Taylor Johnson (So.) -Belmont Abbey
Bri James (So.) - Converse
Erin Horne (Sr.) - Converse
Raygon Hendrix (Sr.) - Erskine
Kristen Giles (Sr.) - Erskine
Whitney Mitchell (Sr.) - King
Jalan Harper (Sr.) - King
Brea Forbes (So.) - Lees-McRae
Markia Stacey (So.) - Lees-McRae
Jasmine Kearse (Sr.) - Limestone
Jasmine Richardson (Jr.) - Limestone
Ni'Ya Styles (Jr.) - Mount Olive
Daria Simmons (Sr.) - Mount Olive
Cameron Carter (Jr.) - North Greenville
Divonnie Powell (Sr.) - North Greenville
Bethany Sarson (So.) - Pfeiffer
Imani Lewis (So.) - Southern Wesleyan
Forwards (Year):
Kianna Wynn (So.) - Barton
Alex Kimble (Jr.) - Barton
Tatyana Jackson (Jr.) - Barton
Gabrielle Bethel (Sr.) - Belmont Abbey
Naomi Stuger (Sr.) - Erskine
Alexis Ammons (So.) - Lees-McRae
Peyton Bockholt (Sr.) - Limestone
Felecity Havens (Jr.) - Mount Olive
Kiara Jones (Sr.) - Mount Olive
Meg Pritchard (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Ariana Tillman (Sr.) - Pfeiffer
Centers (Year):
Amy Van Deventer (Jr.) - King
Elizabeth Trentham (So.) - North Greenville
Noelle van Zadelhoff (Jr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Tatiana Manuel (Sr.) - Southern Wesleyan
Conference Carolinas is a NCAA Division II athletics conference made up of 12 teams from Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee. These institutions consist of: Barton College, Belmont Abbey College, Converse College, Emmanuel College, Erskine College, King University, Lees-McRae College, Limestone College, University of Mount Olive, North Greenville University, Pfeiffer University, and Southern Wesleyan University. Emmanuel College is currently completing the NCAA Membership Process and will be fully competing in league championships in the near future.