In preseason coaches polls announced Tuesday, the Gold Nuggets were picked to finish in a second-place tie in the GCAC, and they were 30th of the 31 NAIA Division I teams receiving votes for the national top 25.
A year ago XULA was picked third in the GCAC and 32nd nationally. The Gold Nuggets followed that by tying for third in the GCAC regular season, finishing second in the tournament and collecting zero points in the final four polls before the national tournament, which XULA missed for just the fourth time in its last 23 opportuntities and the second time in the last three seasons.
XULA returns 10 letterwomen from last season's 19-13 team, including four of its top five scorers. The Gold Nuggets will open at 6 p.m. Thursday at city rival Loyola, which is No. 20 nationally. The Gold Nuggets' home opener will start at 1 p.m. Sunday against Southeastern (Fla.) — No. 4 in the preseason in NAIA Division II — at the Convocation Center.
Dillard, which hasn't won a GCAC regular-season or tournament championship since 2003-04 — the Gold Nuggets have won a combined 11 titles since then — was picked to win the league. XULA shared second with Philander Smith. Last year's regular-season and tournament champion, Talladega, was fourth, followed by Edward Waters, Tougaloo and SUNO.
Despite its No. 1 ranking in the GCAC, Dillard received zero points nationally. The only GCAC team in the top 25 is Talladega, which outpolled Pikeville by two points to grab the 25th position. Future XULA opponents in the top 25 are No. 8 Lindsey Wilson and No. 13 Our Lady of the Lake — both will visit the Gold Nuggets in December.
Also announced Tuesday was the preseason All-GCAC team, but the Gold Nuggets had no representatives.
GCAC Women's Basketball 2017-18 Coaches Poll | |||||
Rank | School | ||||
1 | Dillard | ||||
2-tie | XULA | ||||
2-tie | Philander Smith | ||||
4 | Talladega | ||||
5 | Edward Waters | ||||
6 | Tougaloo | ||||
7 | SUNO |
XULA in previous GCAC polls | ||
2016-17 — 3rd 2015-16 — 1st 2014-15 — 1st 2013-14 — 1st 2012-13 — 1st 2011-12 — 1st 2010-11 — 1st 2009-10 — 2nd 2008-09 — 1st | 2007-08 — 2nd 2006-07 — 3rd 2004-05 — 1st 2003-04 — 2nd 2002-03 — 2nd 2001-02 — 1st 1999-2000 — 1st 1993-94 — 1st |
2017-18 Preseason All-GCAC Women's Basketball | |
Player | School |
Shaelynn Moore | Dillard |
Alyssa Washington | Dillard |
Terralyn Dominick | Philander Smith |
Jasmine Lee-Stackhouse | Talladega |
Montoria Atkinson | Tougaloo |
Jermisha Collins | Edward Waters |
Brittany Rowell | Edward Waters |
GCAC Preseason Player of the Year: Shaelynn Moore, Dillard |
NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches'
Preseason Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records from 2016-17)
Rank | Team | Record | Points | Last |
1 | Oklahoma City (8) | 34-2 | 219 | tie-5 |
2 | Lewis-Clark State | 35-2 | 207 | 2 |
3 | Freed-Hardeman | 35-1 | 204 | 1 |
4 | Vanguard | 30-4 | 200 | tie-5 |
5 | Shawnee State (1) | 31-3 | 196 | 3 |
6 | Campbellsville | 28-7 | 186 | 10 |
7 | Westmont | 29-5 | 174 | 7 |
8 | Lindsey Wilson | 32-3 | 170 | 4 |
9 | Benedictine (Kan.) | 25-9 | 167 | 13 |
10 | Baker (Kan.) | 30-5 | 150 | 8 |
11 | Bethel (Tenn.) | 24-11 | 142 | 18 |
12 | John Brown | 23-9 | 141 | 19 |
13 | Our Lady of the Lake | 24-9 | 133 | 16 |
14 | Lyon | 28-6 | 125 | 9 |
15 | Central Methodist | 24-10 | 117 | 20 |
16-tie | Montana Western | 24-9 | 116 | 21 |
16-tie | Columbia (Mo.) | 26-7 | 116 | 12 |
18 | The Master's | 23-9 | 111 | 17 |
19 | MidAmerica Nazarene | 18-14 | 86 | RV |
20 | Loyola (N.O.) | 26-7 | 81 | 22 |
21 | Montana State-Northern | 24-9 | 78 | 11 |
22 | Cumberland | 15-12 | 77 | NR |
23 | Wayland Baptist | 25-7 | 63 | 15 |
24 | Loyola (N.O.) | 22-10 | 55 | 25 |
25 | Carroll (Mont.) | 22-9 | 48 | 24 |
Dropped from previous rankings: No. 14 Biola, No. 23 Pikeville Others receiving votes: Pikeville 46, Martin Methodist 41, LSU-Shreveport 31, Carroll (Mont.) 28, XULA 15, William Woods 12 Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA twitter.com/xulagoldwww.facebook.com/xulagold |
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