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WLU Women Receive A First-Place Vote

BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. — The West Liberty women’s basketball team was one of five teams to receive at least one first-place vote Friday when the Mountain East Conference coaches released their annual preseason poll.

Coach Kyle Cooper’s Lady Hilltoppers picked up one first-place vote and 93 points to hold down the No. 4 spot in the preseason rankings when the results of the coaches’ voting was revealed at the MEC’s annual Basketball Media Day at The Courtyard by Marriott.

Cooper welcomes back four starters — including NCAA Division II All-America center Marissa Brown — to a talented contingent that includes 10 returning letterwinners, a pair of talented transfers and five outstanding freshman recruits.

“I’m really, really excited about this season,” Cooper said. “I love this group of kids and love their chemistry. We have a lot of returning talent and some excellent newcomers who have really bonded as a unit.

“As a result, to borrow a football term, we have what I consider a 2-deep that can compete against each other on a daily basis and make everybody better. Our first official practice is Monday and I can’t wait to get started.”

The 6-foot-3 Brown led the nation with 299 field goals a year ago and was the only NCAA Division II woman to rank among the Top 10 nationally in scoring and rebounding.

Also back is 5-6 sophomore point guard Audrey Tingle, who led all NCAA Division II freshmen with 6.5 assists/game last winter and a pair of returning senior starters in veteran guards Johnie Olkosky and Brandi Beader.

The Hilltoppers are projected to be in the thick of what is shaping up as an MEC free-for-all in this winter’s battle for women’s basketball supremacy.

Wheeling Jesuit was predicted to finish ninth in the conference as it received 43 points.

The Cardinals turn to first-year coach Mike Llanas this season. Llanas takes over Wheeling Jesuit after a highly-decorated career at Owens Community College in Ohio. He led the Express to a 351-103 overall record (.773), eight Ohio Community College Athletic Conference titles and four National Collegiate Junior Athletic Association Tournament appearances during his tenure.

Llanas takes over a program one year removed from consecutive MEC Tournament crowns and NCAA Division II Tournament berths, but needs to replace a trio of starters, including former 1,000-point scorer Mariah Callan.

“We certainly lost a lot,” Llanas said. “We lost 54 percent of our offense to graduation, including Mariah, who was a great leader for our basketball program.”

The Cardinals will return senior forward and First-Team All-MEC forward Chenelle Moore. Moore was one of only three from the MEC to average a double-double with 15.3 points and 11.5 rebounds per game, eighth-best among NCAA Division II counterparts. She also posted 14 double-doubles, which ranked her 14th in the nation.

The Cardinals also have a returning starter in senior forward Lauren Lipscomb, who averaged 6.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, but the rest of the team is relatively in-experienced.

Defending champion Glenville State was No. 1 with six first-place votes and 110 points but Notre Dame was second with 109 points despite receiving only one first-place vote.

Fairmont State was No. 3 with three first-place votes and 98 points to squeeze past the Hilltoppers with West Virginia State farther back in fifth place with 79 points.

Charleston collected the lone remaining first-place vote to check in at No. 6 with 72 points.

Following the Golden Eagles are Concord (62), Urbana (48), Shepherd (40), West Virginia Wesleyan (20) and UVa-Wise (19).

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