UB Women's Basketball Picked To Finish Number Seven In Preseason ECC Coaches Poll
Purple Knights Set To Open 2018-19 Season At Home Versus New Haven On Saturday Afternoon At 2:30 PM
West Babylon, N.Y. – LIU Post earned eight out of 10 first place votes to run away with the top spot in the East Coast Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Pioneers also claimed the Preseason Player of the Year award, with graduate forward Sasha Patterson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) earning the honor.
LIU Post returns 12 players, including All-Conference honorees Patterson and Mikaiya Moore, from last year's squad that finished with a 22-8 record and won the ECC Regular Season Championship with a mark of 17-1. With so many returners from the successful 2017-18 squad, the coaches across the ECC gave the Pioneers eight first place votes to top the poll with 98 points.
Patterson claims the Preseason Player of the Year honor after being a double-double machine a season ago. The 5-10 forward averaged 16.1 points and 10.0 rebounds per game and ranked 14th in all of Division II with 16 double-doubles on the season. Patterson was also among the league leaders in both categories, coming in at third in points per game and first in rebounds (300), offensive rebounds (141), and rebounds per game. She also topped the league with a 59.2 field goal percentage and finished second with 187 field goals made. Her outstanding season earned her a bevy of honors including spots on the All-Conference First Team, D2CCA All-Region Second Team, and the All-Met First Team.
NYIT narrowly topped St. Thomas Aquinas for second place in the poll, finishing one point ahead. Each of the two teams earned one first place vote, as well. NYIT earns the No. 2 spot after advancing to the ECC Championship Final in each of the past two seasons and in four of the past six. St. Thomas Aquinas, the defending ECC Champions, still placed high in the poll despite graduating the 2017-18 ECC Player of the Year, Jenna Erickson, and the Defensive Player of the Year, Adiya Henderson.
Roberts Wesleyan is next at No. 4 and is followed by Queens and Molloy as expected ECC Championship participants.
2018-2019 ECC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
| School | Pts. | Last Year's Record |
| 1. LIU Post (8) | 98 | 22-8 (17-1 ECC) |
| 2. NYIT (1) | 84 | 19-12 (11-7 ECC) |
| 3. St. Thomas Aquinas (1) | 83 | 27-5 (16-2 ECC) |
| 4. Roberts Wesleyan | 61 | 20-10 (13-5 ECC) |
| 5. Queens | 54 | 13-14 (9-9 ECC) |
| 6. Molloy | 47 | 9-19 (4-14 ECC) |
| 7. Bridgeport | 44 | 9-19 (6-12 ECC) |
| 8. Daemen | 41 | 12-17 (9-9 ECC) |
| 9. Dist. Columbia | 21 | 4-24 (2-16 ECC) |
| 10. Mercy | 17 | 8-20 (3-15 ECC) |
( ) - First Place Votes
Preseason Player of the Year – Sasha Patterson, LIU Post (5-10, Gr., F, Brooklyn, N.Y.)