Ashley Lax and Alex Thompson represented the Wildcats on the All-SoCon Coaches Preseason Team.
Davidson W. Basketball Picked Fourth; Thompson and Lax All-SoCon Picks
11/6/2009 2:03:12 PM | Women's Basketball
Gavin McFarlin - Assistant SID
DAVIDSON, N.C. — With the return of three starters, including All-Southern Conference preseason picks Alex Thompson (Asheville, N.C.) and Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.), the Davidson women's basketball team was picked to finish fourth by the league coaches as announced by the SoCon office today.
For the third consecutive year, Chattanooga was selected by the coaches to win the SoCon regular-season title in 2009-10. The Lady Mocs received nine first-place votes. Chattanooga senior Shanara Hollinquest, the conference's leading scorer and Player of the Year in 2008-09, was selected as the preseason Player of the Year.
Davidson received 64 total points, finishing behind College of Charleston (84) and Samford (91), which had two first place votes.
The Wildcats were picked fifth in the SoCon media poll, earning 104 points.
The Wildcats joined Chattanooga, Samford and College of Charleston by placing two players each on the coaches preseason all-league team.
Thompson and Lax lead a Wildcat squad that returns seven letterwinners and welcomes a freshman class of five players that were ranked as the top incoming class in the SoCon by All Star Girls National Report. Davidson finished last year with its sixth straight winning campaign in the league, going 11-9, while closing the 2008-09 season with a 12-18 overall record.
The guard duo were two of three Wildcats to average double figures in points a season ago. Lax had a breakout sophomore season that saw her average career bests in nearly every offensive category, including dropping in 12.9 points per game, good for sixth in the conference. She had five games of 20 points or more. The junior set a new single-season school mark with 66 made three-pointers.
Thompson returns to the point guard spot, which she has held for the last two seasons as one of the best in the league. The senior averaged a career-best 11.7 points a contest last year, while finishing fifth in the SoCon by hitting 42.8 percent of her three-pointers. She closed out the season one made three-pointer behind Lax with 65. The school's current all-time leader in free throw percentage, Thompson was third in the conference with an average of 3.6 assists per game, dishing out a total of 108 for the year.
The senior guard put her name among the school's single-game record holders with a stellar performance, Dec. 6. Thompson tied the single-game school mark with a career-high 35 points, while draining a new school- and SoCon-best nine treys in pacing the Wildcats to a 95-75 road win at Appalachian State. She went on to score in double figures 19 times last season, including hitting the 20-point mark four times.
Davidson tips off its 2009-10 season with an exhibition contest this Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. in Belk Arena. The 'Cats will play host to Wingate.
SoCon Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
1. Chattanooga (9) — 98
2. Samford (2)— 91
3. College of Charleston —84
4. Davidson —64
5. Western Carolina —58
6. Georgia Southern — 56
7. UNC Greensboro —54
T8. Appalachian State —31
T8. Furman —31
10. Elon —26
11. Wofford —12
SoCon Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Emily Clarke, Western Carolina
Tonia Gerty, College of Charleston
Savannah Hill, Samford
Shanara Hollinquest, Chattanooga (Preseason Player of the Year)
Jade Hughes, College of Charleston
Ashley Lax, Davidson
Emily London, Samford
Lee Stephens, Furman
Alex Thompson, Davidson
Jenaya Wade-Fray, Chattanooga
For the third consecutive year, Chattanooga was selected by the coaches to win the SoCon regular-season title in 2009-10. The Lady Mocs received nine first-place votes. Chattanooga senior Shanara Hollinquest, the conference's leading scorer and Player of the Year in 2008-09, was selected as the preseason Player of the Year.
Davidson received 64 total points, finishing behind College of Charleston (84) and Samford (91), which had two first place votes.
The Wildcats were picked fifth in the SoCon media poll, earning 104 points.
The Wildcats joined Chattanooga, Samford and College of Charleston by placing two players each on the coaches preseason all-league team.
Thompson and Lax lead a Wildcat squad that returns seven letterwinners and welcomes a freshman class of five players that were ranked as the top incoming class in the SoCon by All Star Girls National Report. Davidson finished last year with its sixth straight winning campaign in the league, going 11-9, while closing the 2008-09 season with a 12-18 overall record.
The guard duo were two of three Wildcats to average double figures in points a season ago. Lax had a breakout sophomore season that saw her average career bests in nearly every offensive category, including dropping in 12.9 points per game, good for sixth in the conference. She had five games of 20 points or more. The junior set a new single-season school mark with 66 made three-pointers.
Thompson returns to the point guard spot, which she has held for the last two seasons as one of the best in the league. The senior averaged a career-best 11.7 points a contest last year, while finishing fifth in the SoCon by hitting 42.8 percent of her three-pointers. She closed out the season one made three-pointer behind Lax with 65. The school's current all-time leader in free throw percentage, Thompson was third in the conference with an average of 3.6 assists per game, dishing out a total of 108 for the year.
The senior guard put her name among the school's single-game record holders with a stellar performance, Dec. 6. Thompson tied the single-game school mark with a career-high 35 points, while draining a new school- and SoCon-best nine treys in pacing the Wildcats to a 95-75 road win at Appalachian State. She went on to score in double figures 19 times last season, including hitting the 20-point mark four times.
Davidson tips off its 2009-10 season with an exhibition contest this Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2 p.m. in Belk Arena. The 'Cats will play host to Wingate.
SoCon Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
1. Chattanooga (9) — 98
2. Samford (2)— 91
3. College of Charleston —84
4. Davidson —64
5. Western Carolina —58
6. Georgia Southern — 56
7. UNC Greensboro —54
T8. Appalachian State —31
T8. Furman —31
10. Elon —26
11. Wofford —12
SoCon Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Emily Clarke, Western Carolina
Tonia Gerty, College of Charleston
Savannah Hill, Samford
Shanara Hollinquest, Chattanooga (Preseason Player of the Year)
Jade Hughes, College of Charleston
Ashley Lax, Davidson
Emily London, Samford
Lee Stephens, Furman
Alex Thompson, Davidson
Jenaya Wade-Fray, Chattanooga
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