Coming off its first-ever Atlantic Sun regular season and tournament titles in program history, the ETSU women’s basketball team will be counted on to defend the crown, as the Lady Buccaneers were selected first in both the conference coaches’ and media polls on Wednesday.
Despite losing five letterwinners, including its most prolific three-pointer shooter in Michele DeVault (Columbus, Ohio) and consistent scoring threat off the bench, Kelly Turman (Atlanta), head coach Karen Kemp’s squad was still considered to pose a threat to become the first team since Georgia State (2001-03) to repeat as A-Sun champions.
Repeating their success from a year ago will not come easy for the Lady Bucs, as they are one of two teams in the A-Sun (Florida Gulf Coast) to not have at least one senior on their roster.
Coach Kemp knows repeating as conference champions will not be an easy task and her club has a lot of question marks entering the 2008-09 season.
“Each time we step on the court every team will be gunning for us,” said Kemp, who enters her 15th year at the helm. “Every game is going to be a battle and our team needs to realize they will be in unchartered territory this upcoming season. We have a very young team and our junior class needs to step up and act like seniors both on and off the court.”
In the coaches’ poll, ETSU received six first-place votes, resulting in 124 points. Kennesaw State and Jacksonville were the other two teams to receive first-place selections, but the Lady Owls edged out the Dolphins for second place by only one point – 106 to 105. Belmont (79 points) and last season’s postseason WNIT representative Florida Gulf Coast (73 points) rounded out the top five.
The media poll pretty much mirrored the coaches’ poll, as the Lady Bucs were also tabbed first.
ETSU received 12 first-place votes and finished with 249 points. The only difference on the media side was Kennesaw State and Jacksonville finishing in a tie for second, despite the Lady Owls receiving two more first-place nods (both totaled 230 points). Once again, Belmont and Florida Gulf Coast rounded out the top five.
The Lady Bucs were selected the tournament champion in both polls.
Junior Siarre Evans (Griffin, Ga.) was named to the preseason all-conference team for the second straight year. The all-around player was a unanimous selection after averaging 13.4 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists a year ago. Evans enters the season 184 points shy of becoming the 16th player in ETSU history to reach the 1,000-point club.
Joining Evans on the all-conference team was Jacksonville’s Virginia Gregoire, USC Upstate’s Courtney Hawkins, Jessica Bobbitt from Belmont and Britteny Henderson from Kennesaw State.
Henderson, last season’s A-Sun Player of the Year, was also named the league’s Preseason Player of the Year.
The Lady Bucs begin their quest for a second straight conference crown when they open the 2008-09 campaign at Evansville on Saturday, Nov. 15.

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