AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the preseason Peach Belt Conference coaches poll.

Defending PBC champions Lander are the league favorites followed by Clayton State in second and Francis Marion in third. Georgia College was tabbed fourth.

UNC Pembroke, North Georgia, Georgia Southwestern, Montevallo, Armstrong Atlantic State and a tie with Flagler and Augusta State rounded out the voting.  Coaches were not permitted to rank their own teams.           

“This is kind of what I expected,” said USC Aiken head women's basketball coach Mike Brandt. “The Peach Belt is really a balanced league. So many great basketball teams. I feel like we have a great chance to compete in the league this season and I am looking forward to the official start of the year.”

The USC Aiken women's basketball team is presently in the midst of one of the greatest stretches in school history as the Pacers have collected a school-record four consecutive winning seasons.

The 2009-10 Pacers finished last season at a very respectable 15-13. The Pacers played well down the stretch, claiming a victory in nine of its last 12 outings on the season. The Pacers ended the year with a 10-8 record in the Peach Belt Conference.

In the classroom last year, the Pacers were ranked 22nd in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) 2009-10 Top 25 Team Honor Roll. The Pacers finished the 2009-10 season with a cumulative Grade Point Average of 3.442.

USC Aiken was the only Peach Belt Conference institution on the prestigious list in 2009-10. The Pacers' 2009-10 team GPA is the highest GPA among all PBC institutions in the history of the WBCA Top 25 Honor Roll.

The Pacers will first hit the hardwood in 2010-11 for an exhibition game against former Peach Belt Conference brethren and current NCAA Division I Kennesaw State at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 3 in Kennesaw, Ga. It will mark the first meeting between the two programs since 2005.

USC Aiken will open the regular season by participating in the inaugural South Atlantic Conference/Peach Belt Conference Challenge at Horne Arena in Greenwood, S.C. on Saturday, Nov. 13 and Sunday, Nov. 14. The Pacers will play two of the top teams in the South Atlantic Conference in the challenge with the Pacers opening the event by playing Carson-Newman at 5 p.m. on Nov. 13. One day later, USC Aiken will face off against Tusculum at 2 p.m. on Nov. 14.

2010-11PBC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll

2010-11 PBC Team-by-Team Preview