Wednesday, October 26, 2005

DOTHAN, Ala. - With the addition of three new teams to the Atlantic Sun Conference, there has been a shakeup among preseason favorites. For the second year, Lipscomb dominated both the Atlantic Sun coaches and media preseason poll as announced by the league office today.

Lipscomb was tabbed to finish first in the regular season by coaches and media alike. The Lady Bisons received a total of four first place votes between the two polls. Lipscomb finished tied for sixth last season and will rely heavily on top returner Katie Beth Pate as the point producer and for veteran leadership.

Tournament champion Stetson ranked second in both polls as the coaches selected senior Nefertiti Walker as the preseason player of the year. Walker will step up in the place of all-around player Kristy Brown, whose name is plastered in the A-Sun record book. Walker was a second team all-conference selection for the Hatters a season ago, averaging 15.7 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.

Florida Atlantic took third place in the coaches poll, but was ranked fifth by the media. The Owls finished neck-and-neck with Lipscomb and Mercer for sixth place in the conference standings. The coaches also liked what they saw in Shontavia Williams. The senior guard was named to the preseason all-conference team after earning second team all-conference honors last season. She averaged 14.6 points and 5.1 rebounds during the 2004-05 campaign.

Belmont took the fourth spot among the coaches and third with the media. Both groups chose the Bruins to win the A-Sun tournament this season. With a 17-11 overall finish and a 12-8 A-Sun mark, Belmont has recorded 20 consecutive seasons with at least a record of .500 or better.

Receiving two first place votes, Gardner-Webb rounds out the top five in the coaches poll. The Lady Bulldogs boast two preseason all-conference selections in Sequenta Blackman and Shameka Smith. The pair are the leading scorers for the Lady Bulldogs. Blackman put up 13.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, while Smith scored 12.8 points and pulled down 10.4 boards per outing last season.

Ranked eighth among the coaches and ninth by the media, Jacksonville's Sheena Carpenter completes the all-conference team. Carpenter is the lone senior for the Dolphins and started all 27 games last season, averaging 14.4 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. She ranks among the A-Sun's top 10 in scoring, assists and free-throw percentage.