SMSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: Mustangs selected seventh, second in South division in NSIC Preseason Poll
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BURNSVILLE -- The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball team was picked to finish tied for second in the South Division while receiving a pair of first-place votes and seventh overall in the annual Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Preseason Coaches' poll released on Thursday.
Minnesota Duluth was picked as the preseason overall favorite earning 222 points, with 13 first-place votes (coaches can't vote for their own team). St. Cloud State is slated at second with 203 points and a first-place vote. Augustana is third with 187 points and two first-place votes, followed by Minnesota State (168) and Sioux Falls (159) to complete the top-five favorites.
Bemidji State (157) was picked to finish sixth overall, followed by the Mustangs (141), and MSU Moorhead (122), Concordia-St. Paul (117), Winona State (116), then UMary and Northern State (91) to close the top-12. Rounding out the poll is Wayne State slated 13th with 51 points, and Minnesota Crookston and Minot State tied for 15th with 30.
Augustana was selected to win the South Division with 44 points and earning three first place votes. Minnesota State was picked to tie for second with the Mustangs at 38 points., while Sioux Falls finished in fourth place with 32 points and one first place vote. Winona State was selected fifth with 27 points and a first-place vote, followed by Concordia-St. Paul in sixth place with 25 points, Wayne State in seventh place with 11 points and Upper Iowa in eighth place with seven points.
Minnesota Duluth was selected to win the NSIC North Division with 49 points and seven first place votes, with St. Cloud State slated to finish second with 43 points.
The Southwest Minnesota State women's basketball will look to continue its steady climb up the NSIC standings following a 9-5 season that saw them come within a game of the NSIC tournament.
This season's team will feature the top seven scorers from last season and all five starters. The 2021-22 roster, under sixth-year head coach Tom Webb, features four seniors, one junior, four sophomores, and six freshmen.
"We are excited the opportunity to play a full conference schedule this year," said Coach Webb. "It's been great to have somewhat of a normal fall pre-season leading up to the opening weekend in November. We're excited about our depth returning 11 players from last year's team while adding four freshmen."
Senior Abuk Akoi was named a "Player to Watch" in the NSIC this season. She returns to anchor a defense that allowed 61.9 points per game a season ago, the third lowest total in the NSIC. Akoi was named to the All-NSIC Defensive team for the second straight season after leading the NSIC in blocks and finishing third in rebounding (8.3) to go along with 9.3 ppg. Akoi is the all-time leading shot blocker in SMSU history. Erin Baxter also returns after finishing fifth in the NSIC and leading the team with 2.0 steals per game.
Senior Meleah Reinhart returns after being named All- NSIC South Division first team last season. Reinhart led the team with 15.7 ppg while shooting 42 percent from 3-point range a season ago. She currently ranks 12th in school history with 1,148 points. Senior Sadie Stelter returns after averaging 13.2 ppg a season ago while leading the team with 41 assists after primarily coming off the bench. Jenna Borchers is a returning starter that averaged 12.6 ppg and led the team with 40 3-pointers.
SMSU opens the regular season on Nov. 12-13 at the Northwest Missouri State Classic against Northwest Missouri State and Nebraska-Kearney. They will come home Nov. 19-20 to host the EverSpring Inn & Suites SMSU Classic, and open conference play Nov. 23 on the road against Sioux Falls.
The NSIC Sanford Health Tournament will also change this season with a 12-team NSIC / Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championships are set to take place February 26 to March 1 at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The top two seeds in each division will receive a first round bye. First round games will be played on campus on Wednesday, Feb. 23.
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