Brooklyn, NY - For the first time in four years, Robert Morris is not the NEC women’s basketball preseason favorite.
That moniker belongs to the reigning regular season champion Sacred Heart Pioneers, who earned six first-place votes to top the conference’s annual preseason coaches’ poll.
Although not tabbed to win it all, Robert Morris, which returns four starters from last year’s 20-win team, is expected to be in the title mix under first-year head coach Charlie Buscaglia. The defending NEC Tournament champions pulled in three top nod to take second in the poll.
Saint Francis U, which has won an unprecedented 11 conference crowns, earned the last remaining first-place vote and finished third.
Aiming to continue its run of consecutive postseason appearances, Bryant was tabbed fourth, one spot ahead of fifth-place LIU Brooklyn.
St. Francis Brooklyn, which topped all of Division I in team GPA last year, came in at sixth followed by Central Connecticut in seventh and Mount St. Mary’s in eighth. Goethals Bridge rivals Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner rounded out the preseason poll results in ninth and tenth respectively.
The NEC unveiled the results of the poll, along with the names of five Preseason All-Conference selections, live on its digital network during the fifth annual #NECinNYC Social Media Day at Barclays Center.
Continuing a trend that dates back more than a decade, at least three different teams received at least one first-place vote.
In eight of the past 11 seasons, the coaches’ poll has failed to correctly predict the recipient of the NEC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Robert Morris is responsible for two of the three outliers. The Colonials made good on their preseason No. 1 ranking during the 2013-14 campaign and again last March.
The 2016-17 conference schedule will follow a double round robin format as each team will contest 18 league games. The top-eight finishers in the final standings will advance to the 2017 NEC Tournament, which will take place at the campus sites of higher seeded teams. The NEC Championship Game will unfold on Sunday, March 12 at 2:00 pm ET and will be available to a national television audience via ESPNU.
NEC preseason favorite Sacred Heart finished one win shy of the ultimate NEC prize and reigning Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year Jessica Mannetti welcomes back four starters with hopes finishing the deal this March. Do-it-all forward Hannah Kimmel, the 2016 NEC Player of the Year, returns to lead the charge on both ends of the floor. Adaysha Williams (8.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 3.5 apg) brings stability to the point guard spot while the return of Kelcey Castro (10.0 ppg, 2.2 rpg, 2.1 apg) gives the Pioneers a veteran scoring presence. Shelby Hickey (6.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg) was clutch down the stretch last season, earning a spot on the NEC All-Tournament Team.