Westminster Women Chosen as Pre-Season Favorite in SLIAC

ST. LOUIS - Westminster College's women's basketball squad has been chosen as the pre-season favorite by the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) coaches. The Blue Jays received seven first place votes and totaled 71 points in the SLIAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll.

Westminster won their first regular season conference championship in women's basketball last year, posting a perfect 16-0 record in conference play and 20-6 overall. The Blue Jays will be looking for a repeat performance in 2011-12 and will rely on senior Rachel Backes to lead them to back-to-back titles. Backes, who was the 2010-11 SLIAC Women's Basketball Player of the Year, averaged 14.4 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game and finished the season with 107 assists and 63 steals. She also shot an impressive 44.8 percent (47-of-105) from three-point range. Senior Heather Letourneau, who was named to the 2010-11 All-Defensive Team, also returns and brings back a team-high 5.0 rebounds per game from last season. She also posted 8.8 points per game, 58 assists, 58 steals and a .500 field goal percentage (81-of-162). Rounding out the top three returners for Westminster is junior Kenna Cornelson, who also earned Second Team All-SLIAC honors last year. Cornelson shot 50.8 percent from the field in 2010-11 for an average of 10.8 points per game. She also had 3.0 rebounds per game, 37 assists and 40 steals.

2010-11 SLIAC Tournament champion Webster University received 64 points and one first place vote in the pre-season poll. The Gorloks, who went 17-11 overall and 10-6 in conference play, was the first #3 seed to win the SLIAC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship. Head coach Jordan Olufson returns seniors Barissa Ford and Megan Willett and junior Maggie Zehner. Ford and Willett averaged 8.1 and 7.6 points per game respectively last season. Willett also ranked second on the squad with 5.5 rebounds per game, while also recording 49 assists, 31 steals and a .459 field goal percentage (89-of-194). Zehner was a Honorable Mention All-SLIAC honoree in 2010-11 and is the top returning scorer for the Gorloks with 9.4 points per game.

Greenville College and Spalding University tallied 54 and 51 points in the coaches' poll to rank third and fourth respectively. Greenville returns two All-Conference players from last year's squad that went 13-12 overall and 7-9 in the SLIAC. Junior Katelyn Wise was a Second Team All-SLIAC selection and led the Panthers with 10.3 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. She also had a .507 field goal percentage (109-of-215) and 16 blocks for the season. Junior Laura Hobbie was a Honorable Mention All-SLIAC selection and brings back 9.3 points per game, 3.8 rebounds per game, 35 assists and 32 steals.

Spalding will be relying on senior leadership in 2011-12, with their leading scorer, Kelly Harrod, returning to the court. Harrod, a senior and First Team All-SLIAC honoree, returns after averaging 16.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game last season. She also tallied a total of 78 assists and 51 steals for the season. Senior Melinda Leavell also returns for the Golden Eagles and brings back 8.1 points per game and a team-high 64 three-point field goals made.

Eureka College and Fontbonne University received 45 and 42 points respectively to rank fifth and sixth in the poll. Returning for the Red Devils is 2010-11 SLIAC Newcomer of the Year, Caty Eeten. Eeten had an outstanding rookie season averaging 17.7 points per game, including 19.0 points in conference games only. She also had 6.9 rebounds per game, 58 assists, 30 steals and 16 blocks. Eureka also returns double-digit scoring from seniors Khassandrae Brown and Sara Hamilton. Brown had 14.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game last season, while Hamilton posted 11.6 points and 6.9 rebounds per game.

Fontbonne returns Honorable Mention All-SLIAC honoree, sophomore Chelsea Freymuth. She brings 10.0 points and 5.3 rebounds back to the court, along with 30 steals, 12 blocks and a .488 field goal percentage from last season. Shelby Ellison also returns for the Griffins after averaging 8.8 points per game and a .823 free throw percentage (51-of-62) in 2010-11.

Rounding out the coaches' pre-season poll were MacMurray College (26 points), Blackburn College (22 points) and Principia College (21 points) in seventh, eighth and ninth respectively. MacMurray returns their leading scorer in junior Kelsey Anderson (10.2 ppg, 5.1 rpg). Junior Rashonda Willis (7.7 ppg, 56 assists) is one of the top returners for Blackburn, while Principia's Linsday Sydness (15.2 ppg, 10.2 rpg, 100 blocks) will look to once again lead her squad after earning First Team All-SLIAC and All-Defensive Team honors in 2010-11.

2011-12 SLIAC Women's Basketball
Pre-Season Coaches' Poll
1 - Westminster (7)
2 - Webster (1)
3 - Greenville
4 - Spalding (1)
5 - Eureka
6 - Fontbonne
7 - MacMurray
8 - Blackburn
9 - Principia