COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. --- The Tusculum University women's basketball team is ranked eighth in the D2SIDA Division II Women's Basketball Southeast Region preseason poll, which was released late Monday.
The Pioneers are coming off a 20-9 season, the first 20-win season for the program since 2010-11, and an 8-8 finish in the South Atlantic Conference. Head coach Devan Carter begins his fifth season with four starters returning to the lineup, including SAC Defensive Player of the Year Mia Long along with former All-SAC selections Sydney Wilson and Kasey Johnson, who each received medical redshirts.
Tusculum will play five of the top six teams in the preseason poll during the season, including conference matchups with top-ranked Anderson, third-ranked Carson-Newman and fifth-ranked Wingate. The Pioneers will also face second-ranked and defending Southeast Region champion North Georgia on the road and sixth-ranked Clayton State at home.
Also ranked ahead of the Pioneers are Lander (fourth) and Barton (seventh) while the Pioneers are tied for eighth in the rankings with Flagler. Defending Conference Carolinas champion Emmanuel is ranked tenth in the survey.
The Women's Basketball Division II Media Poll, sponsored by D2SIDA, is in its sixth year of existence. The regional poll is released every Monday, followed by the national poll every Tuesday. Each region has six representatives that comprise the regional poll. The national poll has 16 voters, two from each region.
The Pioneers tip off their 2019-20 season on Friday, November 8 against Belmont Abbey as part of the SAC/Conference Carolinas Challenge, hosted by King University.
D2SIDA Women's Basketball Southeast Region Rankings 2019-20 Preseason Rk Team (1st) W-L Pts 1. Anderson (4) 30-3 56 2. North Georgia (2) 30-5 54 3. Carson-Newman 22-8 47 4. Lander 24-9 44 5. Wingate 23-9 36 6. Clayton State 21-10 26 7. Barton 24-5 22 t8.TUSCULUM 20-9 17 t8.Flagler 21-8 17 10.Emmanuel 24-6 6
