The Kentucky women?s basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the 12-team Southeastern Conference preseason media voting, it was announced Wednesday at the league?s annual media days in Birmingham, Ala.
Tennessee tops the order of finish with 358 points, with LSU (252), Georgia (234), Vanderbilt (189), Auburn (176) and UK (145) rounding out the top half of the league. Mississippi State comes in at seven with 135 votes. Ole Miss (107), Arkansas (95), Florida (84), South Carolina (74) and Alabama (30) round out the bottom half of the conference. Points were compiled on a 12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for one team as an overall conference champion and a five-player All-SEC Team.
?It?s a very competitive league but in all honesty we hope to finish higher than sixth,? UK Coach Matthew Mitchell said. ?We are excited about our team this season and as a coach, I?ll be disappointed if we are not a factor in the SEC Championship race.?
Tennessee junior Candace Parker was the overwhelming choice of the media for SEC Player of the Year with 28 votes, followed by Georgia?s Tasha Humphrey and LSU?s Sylvia Fowles with one vote each. Joining Parker, Humphrey and Fowles on the All-SEC First Team were Auburn?s DeWanna Bonner and Tennessee?s Alexis Hornbuckle. The second team consists of Arkansas senior Lauren Ervin, Florida junior Sha Brooks,Georgia sophomore Ashley Houts, LSU senior Erica White and Vanderbilt junior Christina Wirth.
Florida?s Marshae Dotson, Kentucky?s Samantha Mahoney, LSU?s Quianna Chaney, Mississippi State?s Marneshia Richard, and Tennessee?s Shannon Bobbitt also received votes.
The 2007-08 SEC Media Preseason Poll tips off SEC Basketball Media Days, October 24-25 at the Birmingham Marriott in Alabama. Kentucky?s men and women participate Thursday, Oct. 25 from Noon until 2 p.m. ET.
The Cats were picked to finish a school-record high fifth last season and despite dropping eight games by 10 points or less, including three in overtime, the Wildcats recorded a 20-14 overall record and advanced to their third consecutive postseason with a third-round finish in the WNIT.
A new era in Kentucky women?s basketball begins as Mitchell, the former top assistant coach at UK under Mickie DeMoss, returned to take over the reigns after two seasons as the head coach at Morehead State University. Mitchell welcomes back nine letter winners and four starters from last season?s squad, including three-time All-SEC selection Mahoney (Detroit), senior center Sarah Elliott (McKee, Ky.), and junior All-SEC point guard Carly Ormerod (Louisville, Ky). UK Hoops also welcomes the return of red-shirt junior forward Eleia Roddy (Columbus, Ohio) who is back on the court after suffering a season-ending knee injury last October.
Six newcomers will debut at Kentucky this season. The ninth-ranked recruiting class according to All-Star Girls Report includes Catina Bett (Gadsden, Ala.), Victoria Dunlap (Nashville, Tenn.), Ali Lomax (Lake Oswego, Ore.), Carly Morrow (Chattanooga, Tenn.), and Amber Smith (Winter Haven, Fla.). Senior Chelsea Chowning (Lexington, Ky.) rounds out the newcomers as she enters her final year of eligibility after playing two seasons at Xavier. She is in her second year in UK?s prestigious School of Pharmacy.
The Wildcats begin their season with two exhibition games. UK will play host to Kentucky Wesleyan Thursday, Nov. 1 before taking on Ohio Legends Monday, Nov. 5. Both games tip off at 7 p.m. ET in Memorial Coliseum and are free of charge.
