Shippensburg, Gannon selected as favorites in 2021-22 PSAC Women’s Basketball Preseason Polls
LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Shippensburg University Raiders and the Gannon University Golden Knights were picked as favorites to win Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s Eastern and Western Divisions, the league office announced Thursday.
Preseason polls were determined by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
PSAC EAST
Receiving five of the nine possible first place votes in the East and taking the top spot was Shippensburg after a solid 2019-20 campaign. The Raiders finished the season 21-9 overall and 17-5 in league games falling in the PSAC Semifinals to Gannon. Ship was also a triumphant 14-1 in home games. Shippensburg had a trio of players average double-figures in scoring including Ariel Jones who put up 22.3 pointss per game. Destiny Jefferson tallied 14.4 per game and Aunbrielle Green recorded 10.1 per game. All three of the Raiders top players return to the fold this season making it tough on many defenses.
Right behind the Raiders with four first place votes and picked second is Shepherd. The Rams did play just two games last year, but in their first year in the PSAC (2019-20), they showed up. Shepherd was 21-9 overall and 14-8 in league contests finishing fourth in the East. They eventually lost to Shippensburg in the second round of the PSAC Tournament. The Rams bring back a duo of key top scorers including Abby Beeman and Marley McLaughlin.
Selected third in the PSAC East was Kutztown. The Golden Bears finished third in 2019-20 following an 18-11 overall mark and a 15-7 league record. Kutztown lost in the first round of the tournament to Bloomsburg, 61-57. Rylee Derr did it on both sides of the ball as she scored 15.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest. Derr will find herself back on the floor for Kutztown this season.
Picked to finish fourth in the East is East Stroudsburg. The Warriors are coming off a 2019-20 season which they finished second in the East with a 20-10 overall mark and a 15-7 league record. ESU eventually fell to conclude its season to IUP, 67-54, in the PSAC Semifinals. ESU will be missing its top scorer from 2019-20 in Tiffany Lapotsky and will have a relatively young team with returners like Ryan Weise, Maggie Wigoda, Cassie Ksiazek and Claire Courter as the only upperclassmen.
Fifth in the PSAC East is Lock Haven. The Bald Eagles are coming off a PSAC Tournament berth after going 15-13 overall and 12-10 in league matchups. LHU had one of the better defenses in the East last year surrendering 63.8 points per game.
Sixth in the league was Bloomsburg. The Huskies not only were picked sixth but finished sixth in 2019-20 after going 14-14 overall and 10-12 in league matchups. Emma Saxon returns to the roster after scoring 12.8 points per game and hauling in 4.2 rebounds per contest.
Rounding out the East poll was West Chester, Millersville and Mansfield.
PSAC WEST
Taking the top spot with four first place votesin the West was Gannon. One of a frew teams to play games in 2020-21, the Golden Knights were dominant going 13-1 overall winning their last nine straight contests. They picked up right where they left off in 2019-20 after a year in which they went 25-6 overall and 18-4 I league games with a 13-1 home mark. The reighning PSAC Women’s Basketball Champions defeated Edinboro, Shippensburg and IUP on their way to title and had their first matchup in the NCAA Tournament canceled due to COVID-19. Samantha Pirosko and tori Obenrader will likely be huge for the Knights this year. Pirosko scored 15.9 points per game last year and Obenrader dropped 12.6 per game.
Picked to finish second in the West is PSAC Runner-Up, IUP, who had four first place votes as well. IUP finished with the most wins in the league in 2019-20. The Crimson Hawks were 28-3 and 21-1 in league matchups. The Crimson Hawks dominated on defense allowing just 53.3 points per game and averaging 39.8 rebounds per game locking up a +9.5 margin. Justina Mascaro returns to the team this season following a year where she was IUP’s top scorer averaging 14.2 points per contest.
Behind the Crimson Hawks was Cal U who is picked to finish third. The Vulcans were 21-9 overall and 14-8 in league games finishing fourth in 2019-20. California ended up falling to IUP in the quarterfinals of the PSAC Tournament, but did get picked for the Atlantic Region Tournament. They were set to play Gannon in the first round prior to the season being cut short. The Vulcans were fifth in the league in defense allowing just 62.3 points per contest.
Selected fourth in the PSAC West was Mercyhurst. The Lakers also received the last first place vote in the preseason poll. Mercyhurst played 17 games in 2020-21 going 11-6. They were led by Jayde Boyd who tallied 12.3 points per game and 6.4 rebounds per contest. Meghan Komendarek averaged 10.5 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest. Both Boyd and Komendarek will be back for the 2021-22 season.
Picked to finish fifth in the PSAC West was Seton Hill. The Griffins were 14-15 overall and 8-14 in league matchups making the PSAC Tournament as the sixth seed. What Seton Hill lacked defensively, the got back on offense ranking third in the league in points per game scoring 73.5.
Coming in the sixth spot per the coaches poll was Edinboro. The Fighting Scots finished the season as the third seed in the PSAC West with a 17-11 overall mark and a 14-8 league record. Edinboro made it to the PSAC Tournament Quarterfinals falling to the eventual PSAC Champion in Gannon. However, the roster is young with just a pair of returning upperclassmen in Alexis Rodenbaugh and Monica Brown.
The final three spots in the Western Division went to Pitt-Johnstown, Slippery Rock and Clarion, respectively.
The 2021-22 regular season will begin Friday, November 12th with PSAC play set to start December 3rd.
2021-22 Women's Basketball Preseason Polls
EAST
1. Shippensburg (5)
2. Shepherd (4)
3. Kutztown
4. East Stroudsburg
5. Lock Haven
6. Bloomsburg
7. West Chester
8. Millersville
9. Mansfield
WEST
1. Gannon (4)
2. IUP (4)
3. Cal U
4. Mercyhurst (1)
5. Seton Hill
6. Edinboro
7. Pitt-Johnstown
8. Slippery Rock
9. Clarion
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg University, California University of Pennsylvania, Clarion University, East Stroudsburg University, Edinboro University, Gannon University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown University, Lock Haven University, Mansfield University, Mercyhurst University, Millersville University, The University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown, Seton Hill University, Shepherd University, Shippensburg University, Slippery Rock University and West Chester University.