Green Bay Tabbed to Win, Brown Chosen Player of the Year in Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
INDIANAPOLIS – Green Bay received all but one first place vote, tallying 299 points, and has been chosen to win the 2011-12 Horizon League women’s basketball championship in a preseason poll of the league’s coaches, sports information directors and media members. Brandi Brown of Youngstown State was named Preseason Player of the Year, edging Green Bay’s Julie Wojta by one point.
Cleveland State (238) took second in the poll, while Wright State (212) finished third. Butler (197), UIC (186) and Milwaukee (177) are fourth, fifth and sixth in the poll. Detroit (141) picked up one first place vote while finishing seventh, followed by Loyola (88), Valparaiso (64) and Youngstown State (48).
Brown received 260 points and 11 of 30 Player-of-the-Year votes. Brown led the conference in scoring for all games last season, averaging 19.9 points per game while also ranking fourth in rebounding and seventh in field goal percentage. In league play, Brown upped her average to 22.7 ppg., as she was named to the 2010-11 All-Horizon League Second Team.
Brown was joined by Wojta, Wright State’s Molly Fox, Cleveland State’s Shalonda Winton and UIC’s Jasmine Bailey on a Preseason All-Horizon League First Team heavily loaded with front-court players.
Wojta received 259 points and 15 of 30 Player-of-the-Year votes to finish one point behind Brown in the race for top individual honors in the conference. The 6’0" senior is the leading returnee for Green Bay in points (13.6 ppg.), rebounds (7.4 rpg.), assists (3.6 apg.), steals (81) and blocks (18).
Fox, Winton and Bailey all ranked in the top-10 last season in rebounding. Fox averaged 14.8 ppg., and 9.2 rpg., last season while Winton averaged 12.5 ppg., and 9.1 rpg. Bailey chipped in 10.5 ppg., and 9.3 rpg.
Milwaukee sophomore Angela Rodriguez, the 2011 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year, earned Horizon League Preseason Second-Team accolades along with Detroit junior Yar Shayok, UIC senior Shameia Green, Loyola junior Monica Albano and Valparaiso senior Betsy Adams.
Rodriguez was one of the deadliest three-point shooters in the league last season, making 67 and connecting on 42.1 percent of her attempts, good enough for second in the conference. Adams made 68 three-pointers last season and shot 91.4 percent from the free throw line to finish second in the conference. Shayok led the league in rebounding, averaging 10.2 rpg. Green (14.4 ppg.) and Albano (16.7 ppg.) both placed among league leaders in scoring last season.
Green Bay, which finished last season ranked ninth in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll and advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament, returns four players who started at least 16 games last season. The Phoenix, coached by Matt Bollant who is 68-4 in regular season Horizon League contests, have won 13 consecutive regular season titles.
Cleveland State returns four starters from a 21-12 team last season. The Vikings have advanced to post-season play in three of the last four seasons.
Wright State is coming off its first Division I post-season action in school history. The Raiders finished 20-13 last season and ended the season by playing in the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
Butler finished tied for second in the league last season, but the Bulldogs lost their three leading scorers from that team. Eight of the 13 players on their roster are underclassmen.
UIC returns three starters from last year’s team that finished .500 in conference play. The Flames have a new head coach in Regina Miller, who previously coached at UNLV. UIC is the only team in the conference to have two players named to the preseason all-league team.
Milwaukee returns four starters and eight letterwinners overall from last season’s squad. The Panthers have three returnees who averaged over nine points per game as UWM finished second in the league last season in scoring offense.
Detroit returns three starters, including Shayok and Jalesa Jones. Jones has started 68 straight games and currently ranks seventh in school history with 355 assists. She finished in the top-five in the league last season in assists and assist-to-turnover ratio.
Loyola returns its top four scorers from last season’s team. Albano led the team in scoring, but Ellen Ayoub (10.8 ppg.) and Abbey Skube (10.0 ppg.) also averaged double-figures.
Valparaiso also returns its top four scorers from a year ago. Sophomore Tabitha Gerardot earned All-Newcomer Team honors last year while leading the Crusaders with 7.4 rebounds per game.
Youngstown State will look to Preseason Horizon League Player-of-the-Year Brown and senior Tieara Jones, who led the league in blocks last season, to lead the Penguins.
The 2011-12 women’s basketball season beings on Friday, Nov. 11. The 2012 Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship is set for March 5, 7, 9 and 11.
