(HALIFAX, N.S.) First-year head coach Matt Gamblin and his UPEI Panthers squad have been selected as the pre-season favourites to capture the 2018-19 banner in women's basketball according to the coaches' poll released today.
This marks the fourth year for the AUS pre-season coaches' poll, which is voted on by the league's eight head coaches, who rank the other seven squads and are not permitted to vote for their own teams.
The Panthers received six first-place votes and 48 points to come in at the top of the poll. UPEI and former head coach Greg Gould finished third in the AUS standings last year with an 11-9 record. At the AUS championship at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, the Panthers defeated UNB by a score of 76-70 in quarter-final action and upset Cape Breton 78-73 in semifinals play before falling to the top-seeded Acadia Axewomen in the final by a score of 80-58.
Last season's AUS rookie of the year Reese Baxendale returns to UPEI for her sophomore year after starting in all 20 contests, averaging 10.2 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game.
UPEI will also look to reigning defensive player of the year Carolina Del Santo, second team all-star Jenna Mae Ellsworth and senior Jane McLaughlin to be key contributors as they chase their first Atlantic conference banner since 1997-98.
The Cape Breton Capers finished second in the voting with one first place vote and 38 total points. The Capers, who finished in second place in 2017-18 with a 13-6 record, lose AUS scoring leader Alison Keough to graduation but will have first team all-star Hannah Brown (16.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg) back for a fifth season along with all-rookie guard Mackenzee Ryan (9.2 ppg).
The Memorial Sea-Hawks received the final first place vote among the coaches and tied for third in the poll with the Acadia Axewomen with 35 points. Memorial lost to Saint Mary's by a score of 71-61 in AUS quarter-final action last year after finishing in fifth place with an 11-9 record.
Leading scorers Sydney Stewart (16.3 ppg, 6.6 rpg, second team AUS all-star) and Brooklyn Wright (14.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg) are back for a fifth year with the Sea-Hawks, and second year forward Cameron Longley will look to build on her freshman season that was recognized with her being named to the conference's all-rookie team.
The defending champion Acadia Axewomen also received 35 votes from the coaches. Two-time league MVP Paloma Anderson is gone after wrapping up her four years with the program as the all-time scoring leader with 1,446 career points. Alexandra Berry, the school's all-time leading rebounder has also moved on.
Reigning AUS coach of the year Len Harvey will look to third-year guard Haley MacDonald (17.6 ppg) as well as seniors Kelsey Rice and Ellen Hatt to lead the way this season. Also joining the Axewomen for her fifth year of eligibility is former Dalhousie guard and Shalyn Field.
The UNB Reds picked up 23 points in this year's voting to rank fifth, while the Dalhousie Tigers were sixth with 19 points.
The Reds posted a 10-10 record last season to finish in sixth place and advance to the AUS championship for the fourth year in a row. The Tigers finished in seventh place with a 5-15 record and missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.
The Saint Mary's Huskies came in seventh with 17 points and the StFX X-Women round out this year's rankings with seven points. The Huskies are coming off an 11-9 season in which they finished in fourth place, while the X-Women and first-year head coach Lee Anna Osei will look to qualify for the post-season for the first time since 2013-14.
2018-19 AUS Women's Basketball Pre-season Coaches' Poll
1. UPEI (6), 48 pts.
2. Cape Breton (1), 40 pts.
T3. Memorial (1), 35 pts.
T3. Acadia, 35 pts.
5. UNB, 23 pts.
6. Dalhousie, 19 pts.
7. Saint Mary's, 17 pts.
8. StFX, 7 pts.
The 2018-19 regular season gets underway Thursday night in Halifax when the Saint Mary's Huskies host the defending AUS champion Acadia Axewomen at 6 p.m., followed by all eight teams seeing action this weekend.
This upcoming schedule for this week is as follows:
Thursday, Nov. 1 - Acadia at Saint Mary's, 6 p.m.
Friday, Nov. 2 - UNB at StFX, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 3 - Memorial at UPEI, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 3 - UNB at StFX, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 3 - Cape Breton at Dalhousie, 6 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 3 - Acadia at Saint Mary's, 6 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 4 - Cape Breton at Dalhousie, 1 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 4 - Memorial at UPEI, 1 p.m.
For the full 2018-19 AUS women's basketball schedule, click here.
All games will be webcast live at www.AUStv.ca.