Davidson Picked 6th in W. Basketball SoCon Preseaon Poll; Pair of ‘Cats Named to All-League Team
11/9/2010 4:59:02 PM | Women's Basketball
Gavin McFarlin -- Assistant SID
DAVIDSON, N.C. — Coming off their seventh straight winning mark in Southern Conference play last year, the Davidson women's basketball team has been picked sixth in the SoCon Coaches and Media polls, the conference announced today. Senior Ashley Lax (Little Rock, Ark.) and sophomore Sophia Aleksandravicius (Pound Ridge, N.Y.) were both named to the 10-member all-league preseason team by the coaches.
For the first time since joining the SoCon, Samford was selected by the conference's coaches as well as the media to win the regular season title in 2010-11. The Bulldogs received seven first-place votes in the coaches poll, while getting 10 of 16 first-place votes in the media ballot. Samford senior Emily London, the conference's leading three-point and free-three shooter from a season ago, was selected as the coaches' preseason Player of the Year.
Davidson, 12-8 in league play last season, returns eight letterwinners, including a pair of starters in All-SoCon Freshman Team member Aleksandravicius and Lax from last year's squad. Both Aleksandravicius and Lax finished second and third, respectively, in scoring on the team.
The 6-foot-4 forward Aleksandravicius was one of the top freshman in the league a year ago, finishing with 11 double-doubles (second-most in the conference). She had averages of 12 points and eight rebounds per game, with her eight boards ranking third-best in the SoCon. She also swatted away 49 shots, the third-most in a Wildcat single-season.
A second-team all-state pick of the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) with Alex Thompson, Aleksandravicius started 17 of 29 games as a freshman, and scored in double digits 17 times, hitting the 20-point mark four times last year.
Senior sharp-shooter Lax led the team with 64 made three-pointers, two off her Wildcat single-season record she set as a sophomore in 2008-09. The guard, who started 26 games, averaged 11.1 points per game. She needs just 232 points this season to become the 14th Wildcat to clip the 1,000-point mark for a career.
In addition to putting her name atop the single-season charts in made three-pointers, Lax ranks fifth overall with 138 made treys and is second all-time with a 38-percent shooting clip from behind the arc for her career.
Lax was a preseason All-SoCon pick last year with Thompson.
For the first time in three years, Chattanooga was not picked to finished first in the preseason polls. The Mocs collected the final two first-place votes in coaches' poll to finish third with 85 points, and received the final three first-place votes and 152 points in the media poll to earn third as well. Chattanooga has won or shared the last 11 regular season titles.
The Wildcats, under the guidance of first-year head coach Michele Savage, will hit the road to open their 2010-11 season as they head to the state of Arkansas to take on Arkansas-Little Rock, which is receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN preseason top-25 polls, and SEC-foe Arkansas, Nov. 12-14. Gametimes are set for 8 and 2 p.m.
SoCon Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
Team (1st Place Votes)
1. Samford (7) - 96
2. Appalachian State (2) - 91
3. Chattanooga (2) - 85
4. College of Charleston - 59
5. Georgia Southern - 58
6. Davidson -55
7. Western Carolina - 46
8. Elon - 45
9. UNCG - 36
10. Furman - 20
11. Wofford - 14
SoCon Women's Basketball Media Preseason Poll
Team (1st Place Votes)
1. Samford (10) - 168
2. Appalachian State (3) - 153
3. Chattanooga (3) - 152
4. College of Charleston - 115
5. Georgia Southern - 105
6. Davidson - 93
7. Elon - 84
8. Western Carolina - 73
9. UNCG - 54
10. Wofford - 32
11. Furman -27
SoCon Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Anna Freeman, Appalachian State
Sam Ramirez, Appalachian State
Tonia Gerty, College of Charleston
Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson
Ashley Lax, Davidson
Ali Ford, Elon
Savannah Hill, Samford
Emily London, Samford
Kayla Christopher, Chattanooga
Emily Clarke, Western Carolina
SoCon Preseason Player of the Year
Emily London, Samford
For the first time since joining the SoCon, Samford was selected by the conference's coaches as well as the media to win the regular season title in 2010-11. The Bulldogs received seven first-place votes in the coaches poll, while getting 10 of 16 first-place votes in the media ballot. Samford senior Emily London, the conference's leading three-point and free-three shooter from a season ago, was selected as the coaches' preseason Player of the Year.
Davidson, 12-8 in league play last season, returns eight letterwinners, including a pair of starters in All-SoCon Freshman Team member Aleksandravicius and Lax from last year's squad. Both Aleksandravicius and Lax finished second and third, respectively, in scoring on the team.
The 6-foot-4 forward Aleksandravicius was one of the top freshman in the league a year ago, finishing with 11 double-doubles (second-most in the conference). She had averages of 12 points and eight rebounds per game, with her eight boards ranking third-best in the SoCon. She also swatted away 49 shots, the third-most in a Wildcat single-season.
A second-team all-state pick of the North Carolina Collegiate Sports Information Association (NCCSIA) with Alex Thompson, Aleksandravicius started 17 of 29 games as a freshman, and scored in double digits 17 times, hitting the 20-point mark four times last year.
Senior sharp-shooter Lax led the team with 64 made three-pointers, two off her Wildcat single-season record she set as a sophomore in 2008-09. The guard, who started 26 games, averaged 11.1 points per game. She needs just 232 points this season to become the 14th Wildcat to clip the 1,000-point mark for a career.
In addition to putting her name atop the single-season charts in made three-pointers, Lax ranks fifth overall with 138 made treys and is second all-time with a 38-percent shooting clip from behind the arc for her career.
Lax was a preseason All-SoCon pick last year with Thompson.
For the first time in three years, Chattanooga was not picked to finished first in the preseason polls. The Mocs collected the final two first-place votes in coaches' poll to finish third with 85 points, and received the final three first-place votes and 152 points in the media poll to earn third as well. Chattanooga has won or shared the last 11 regular season titles.
The Wildcats, under the guidance of first-year head coach Michele Savage, will hit the road to open their 2010-11 season as they head to the state of Arkansas to take on Arkansas-Little Rock, which is receiving votes in both the AP and USA Today/ESPN preseason top-25 polls, and SEC-foe Arkansas, Nov. 12-14. Gametimes are set for 8 and 2 p.m.
SoCon Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
Team (1st Place Votes)
1. Samford (7) - 96
2. Appalachian State (2) - 91
3. Chattanooga (2) - 85
4. College of Charleston - 59
5. Georgia Southern - 58
6. Davidson -55
7. Western Carolina - 46
8. Elon - 45
9. UNCG - 36
10. Furman - 20
11. Wofford - 14
SoCon Women's Basketball Media Preseason Poll
Team (1st Place Votes)
1. Samford (10) - 168
2. Appalachian State (3) - 153
3. Chattanooga (3) - 152
4. College of Charleston - 115
5. Georgia Southern - 105
6. Davidson - 93
7. Elon - 84
8. Western Carolina - 73
9. UNCG - 54
10. Wofford - 32
11. Furman -27
SoCon Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
Anna Freeman, Appalachian State
Sam Ramirez, Appalachian State
Tonia Gerty, College of Charleston
Sophia Aleksandravicius, Davidson
Ashley Lax, Davidson
Ali Ford, Elon
Savannah Hill, Samford
Emily London, Samford
Kayla Christopher, Chattanooga
Emily Clarke, Western Carolina
SoCon Preseason Player of the Year
Emily London, Samford
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