MAC Announces 2015-16 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
CLEVELAND, Ohio – The Mid-American Conference announced Tuesday, October 27th the 2015-16 Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll and All-MAC Teams as voted on by the twelve head coaches of the Mid-American Conference.
Ohio and Eastern Michigan were each selected to win their respective divisions during the 2015-16 campaign as both return veteran squads. The Bobcats were then voted the favorite to win both the regular season championship with 10 votes (Ball State and Eastern Michigan each with one vote) as well as the conference tournament with five votes (Ball State and Eastern Michigan each with three votes, Buffalo with one vote).
Led by Preseason All-MAC Team players Kiyanna Black and Quiera Lampkins, the Bobcats will look to repeat as conference champions and notch their third MAC Women’s Basketball Tournament Title in program history. The Eagles, who advanced all the way to the championship game last season, will aim for their first title since being crowned MAC Tournament Champs in 2012.
In the East, behind Ohio in the coaches poll, Akron edged out Bowling Green for second in the division. The Zips finished the 2015-16 season with the second best overall record and third best record in conference play. However an early exit from the MAC Tournament should have Akron motivated to get back to their 2013-14 form when it grabbed the conference tournament crown. The Falcons will also be looking to rebound from last season as they failed to make the trip up to Cleveland in March. Rounding out the East are Miami in fourth, followed by Buffalo and Kent State in a tie for sixth.
Out in the MAC West Division, the coaches voting took a twist as the Eagles of Eastern Michigan narrowly beat Ball State for the overall vote count and first place in the west division. EMU, coming off its outstanding run to the MAC Tournament Title game, garnered four first place votes, while the Cardinals actually tallied eight of the first place votes but finished second in overall voting. These two squads battled each other in the conference tournament semifinals with Eastern Michigan knocking off No. 2 seeded Ball State and the competition between the two teams for the top spot in the MAC West figures to continue throughout the 2015-16 season. Following the Eagles and Cardinals in the poll were Western Michigan in third, Toledo in fourth, Central Michigan in fifth and Northern Illinois rounding out the division in sixth.
Joining Ohio’s Black and Lampkins on the Preseason All-MAC East Team were a pair of Zips in Anita Brown and Hannah Plybon, along with the Falcons Erica Donovan. This is the second straight season in which Black and Donovan were voted as preseason All-MAC representatives.
Heading the Preseason All-MAC West Team was Ball State with a pair of teammates in Nathalie Fontaine and Jill Morrison. They were joined by Eastern Michigan’s Cha Sweeney, Western Michigan’s Miracle Woods and 2015 MAC Freshman of the Year Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott.
The MAC regular season gets underway on Friday, November 13 as seven of the twelve MAC programs take the court. MAC play begins on Saturday, January 2 as teams begin their march to the MAC Women Basketball Tournament that begins March 7th on the campuses of the five through eight seeds before moving to Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio, March 9-12.
2015-16 MAC East Predicted Order of Finish
1. Ohio (12 First Place Votes)
2. Akron
3. Bowling Green
4. Miami
T5. Buffalo
T5. Kent State
2015-16 MAC West Predicted Order of Finish
1. Eastern Michigan (4)
2. Ball State (8)
3. Western Michigan
4. Toledo
5. Central Michigan
6. Northern Illinois
2016 MAC Regular Season Predicted Champion
Ohio (10)
Ball State & Eastern Michigan (1)
2016 MAC Tournament Predicted Champion
Ohio (5)
Ball State & Eastern Michigan (3)
Buffalo (1)
Preseason All-MAC East Team
Kiyanna Black, Ohio
Anita Brown, Akron
Quiera Lampkins, Ohio
Erica Donovan, Bowling Green
Hannah Plybon, Akron
Preseason All-MAC West Team
Nathalie Fontaine, Ball State
Cha Sweeney, Eastern Michigan
Miracle Woods, Western Michigan
Jill Morrison, Ball State
Jay-Ann Bravo-Harriott, Toledo
