UDC Firebirds Top East Coast Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll

Head Coach Lester Butler, Jr. has eight players returning
from last year's ECC Championship team.
Courtesy UDC Firebirds Athletics

CENTRAL ISLIP, New York  -- University of the District of Columbia, winners of last year's East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Championship, has been selected as favorites to repeat as conference champions in a vote by the conference's coaches. The Firebirds received a total of 116 points and six first-place votes.

UDC finished last season with a 21-8 record and won the first ECC Championship in program history. They also made a trip to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the second time in three seasons since joining the ECC. The 2014-15 edition of the Firebirds has eight returning players on the roster from last year, including All-Conference First Team picks Denikka Brent and Telisha Turner.

LIU Post finished narrowly behind UDC in the poll with four first-place votes and 111 points. The Pioneers won the ECC Regular Season Championship last year and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 for the first time in program history. They return last year's ECC Player of the Year, Chelsea Williams, who averaged 19.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per-game last season. Williams was named 2014-15 Preseason Player of the Year.

Queens College wraps up the top-three with 89 points. The Knights – three years removed from a one-win campaign, finished last season with 20 wins and advanced to the ECC semifinals last season. NYIT, which received the final first place vote, comes in at fourth in the poll with 85 points.

The Firebirds open the 2014-15 season on November 8th with an exhibition game vs. Division I University of Maryland at the XFinity Center in College Park, MD. The Terrapins are the favorites to win the Big 10 Championship after finishing the 2013-14 season 28-7 overall and advancing to the NCAA Final Four.

2014-2015 ECC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll

School Pts. Last Year's Record
1. District of Columbia (6) 116 21-8 (15-5 ECC)
2. LIU Post (4) 111 24-7 (18-2 ECC)
3. Queens 89 20-8 (15-5 ECC)
4. NYIT (1) 85 18-10 (13-7 ECC)
5. Roberts Wesleyan 72 15-14 (10-10 ECC)
6. Molloy 70 14-14 (11-9 ECC)
7. St. Thomas Aquinas 61 12-13 (8-12 ECC)
8. Dowling 38 10-16 (9-11 ECC)
9. Bridgeport 31 7-19 (5-15 ECC)
10. Daemen 30 8-18 (5-15 ECC)
11. Mercy 23 2-24 (1-19 ECC)
( ) - First Place Votes

Preseason Player of the Year: Chelsea Williams, LIU Post (5-7, Sr., G, Copiague, N.Y.)

COURTESY UNIVERSITY OF DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SPORTS INFORMATION