CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. (Nov. 2, 2015) - The LIU Post women's basketball team was selected to finish fifth in the East Coast Conference in 2015-16, the league announced in a preseason poll last Thursday.
The Pioneers, who return five players from last season, received 82 points in the poll. Defending league champion Queens College amassed 117 points, including nine first-place votes, to take the top spot.
New York Institute of Technology, the 2014-15 runner-up, was second with 107 points and two first-place votes. University of the District of Columbia and Roberts Wesleyan College finished in a tie for third with 86 points to round out the Top-5.
Last year, senior forward
Nyasia Davis (Rahway, N.J.), an All-Met Division II and All-ECC first-team selection, averaged a double-double, scoring 13.4 points and pulling down 11.4 rebounds per game. Her 11.4 rebound average ranked second in the league.
Throughout the season, she recorded a team-high 17 double-doubles, a mark which was third-best in the conference and fourth amongst all East Region players. Davis concluded her junior campaign with 11 double-doubles over the team's final 15 games. Additionally, she placed in the Top-5 in the country in offensive rebounding, averaging 5.0 boards per contest.
Returning point guard
Jalyn Brown (Riverhead, N.Y.) will be tasked with running Head Coach
Deirdre Moore's offense. Last season, Brown appeared in 28 games and averaged 2.4 points and 1.9 assists per game.
Senior forward
Kalinka DeRoche (New Haven, Conn.) will be back to provide defensive help down low. Her 39 blocks were 10th-best in the ECC and 5.0 rebounds per game from a year ago will be an added bonus in the paint.
Moore and her LIU Post squad open the 2015-16 season next Saturday (Nov. 14), when they take on Pace University in the opening game of the ECC/Northeast-10 Challenge in Pleasantville. The opening tip is slated for 3:30 p.m.
2015-16 ECC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll1. Queens (Nine First-Place Votes) - 117 Points
2. NYIT (Two First-Place Votes) - 107 Points
T-3. District of Columbia - 86 Points
T-3. Roberts Wesleyan - 86 Points
5. LIU Post - 82 Points6. St. Thomas Aquinas - 69 Points
7. Molloy - 52 Points
8. Daemen - 48 Points
9. Bridgeport - 42 Points
10. Dowling - 20 Points
11. Mercy - 17 Points