Link: USA South Release
After going 8-4 overall and 8-3 in the USA South during the 2020-21 season, the LaGrange College women's basketball team earned the fourth spot in the USA South West Division Coaches Preseason poll Wednesday.
LaGrange received 42 points, five more than fifth-place Covenant. Piedmont (61 points), Maryville (54) and Berea (49) ranked first, second and third, respectively, in the West Division. The Lions received five first-place votes, while the Mountaineers and Scots were awarded three and one, respectively.
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The top-five teams from the West and East Division will qualify for the USA South Tournament. On the East side, N.C. Wesleyan is positioned in the top slot with 75 points and six first-place nods. During last season's COVID-19-altered spring season, the Battling Bishops took home the East Division crown and Maryville earned the West Division championship.
The Panthers will compete in 16 conference games this season, featuring eight home-and-home series with the other teams in the West Division. The conference slate begins with a 2 p.m. game at Berea on Nov. 20. LC's first home USA South matchup will be against Wesleyan in Mariotti Gym on Jan. 3 at 6 p.m.
"We are expecting a very intense conference schedule this season," said second-year LaGrange College Women's Basketball Head Coach Jasen Jonus. "Our side will be competitive from top to bottom. We cannot afford to take any game for granted. If we approach each game with a championship mindset, we have the talent and heart to make a deep run."
During the 2020-21 season, LaGrange opened the season with eight straight USA South wins and nailed down the No. 3 seed in the West Division Tournament, the highest finish by the team since the conference went to the West and East Division format in 2016-17. Third-seeded LC fell short, 80-60, in the first round of the playoffs to second-seeded Maryville.
Assistant Sports Information Director Trevor Wenners can be reached at twenners@lagrange.edu.
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