Women's Basketball | November 01, 2023
AUGUSTA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina Aiken women's basketball team has been selected third in the PBC Preseason Poll, which was released Wednesday.
Head coach
Mark Miller's team recorded 59 points and picked up a first-place vote. The Pacers are coming off an 18-12 campaign, including a 12-6 effort in league play. USC Aiken earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament a season ago.
The Pacers return 2022-23 all-conference honoree
Jentri Worley. A season ago, she accounted for 11.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while draining 41 percent of her shots from the floor and 83.2 percent from the charity stripe.
USC Aiken also returns a strong core in sophomores
Annalise Malone (9.6 points/game; 5.2 rebounds per game) and
Hailey Unger (6.9 points/game; 3.1 rebounds/game).
"We are pretty excited about this year's team," Miller said. "We will be a very young, but talented team. As we know it's not where you begin the season, but it is where you finish. Once again, the PBC will be a very tough conference with outstanding players and coaches. We will have to be ready to play each night."
North Georgia was picked to win the league with 80 points and eight first-place nods. Columbus State is second with 61 points. Augusta garnered the other first-place vote. The Jaguars and Clayton State are tied for fourth (57 points). Georgia Southwestern (43 points), Lander (33 points), Flagler (26 points), Georgia College & State (24 points) and USC Beaufort (10 points) round out the PBC Preseason Coaches Poll.
The Pacers open the season Saturday, Nov. 11 when they take on Lenoir-Rhyne at Carson-Newman. Tip-off is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Preseason Coaches Poll
| Rank |
Team |
Points |
| 1. |
North Georgia (8) |
80 |
| 2. |
Columbus State |
61 |
| 3. |
USC Aiken (1) |
59 |
| t4. |
Augusta (1) |
57 |
| t4. |
Clayton State |
57 |
| 6. |
Georgia Southwestern |
43 |
| 7. |
Lander |
33 |
| 8. |
Flagler |
26 |
| 9. |
Georgia College & State University |
24 |
| 10. |
USC Beaufort |
10 |
Preseason All-Conference Team
Kayla Langley, Georgia Southwestern
Kennedi Manning, Augusta
Caroline Martin, North Georgia
Olonna Rawls, Columbus State
Emily Trushel, North Georgia
