AIKEN, SC--Last year’s Peach Belt Conference co-champions, Armstrong Atlantic State and Columbus State, have been picked to battle it out once again for league supremacy in 2003-04. According to a poll of the league’s 12 head coaches released by the conference office on Tuesday morning at the PBC Media Day, AASU is the preseason favorite collecting nine first-place votes for a total of 119 points. CSU is second with one first-place vote and 103 points. USCA was picked 10th in the 12-team league.

North Florida, who surprised the South Atlantic region with a run through the NCAA tournament that landed them in the Elite Eight in 2002-03, was picked third with 100 points and one first-place vote. Kennesaw State picked up the final first-place vote and is fourth with 95 points. The South Division landed the top four spots in the poll.

The Lady Pacers are coming off a 19-13 season in which they finished second in the North Division with a 9-10 conference mark. Following an quarterfinal win over UNC Pembroke at the 2003 PBC Tournament, USCA dropped a heartbreaking 69-63 decision in the semifinals to tournament champions AASU in the closing seconds.

USCA began the season with high expectations, ranked as high as seventh in one national poll and claiming the consolation championship at the prestigious Disney Division II Tip-Off Classic in Orlando, FL. Four losses by five points or less in regulation plus another four overtime losses, however, turned a promising season into a tumultuous one.

Second-year head coach Mike Brandt will have only four returners to work with, but four of the eight newcomers played for Brandt at Northeastern Junior College, so familiarity will not be a problem.

Following Kennesaw State, Augusta State (66) was fifth and tabbed as the team to beat in the North Division. USC Spartanburg (63), Lander (55), Clayton State (52), and Georgia College & State (52) round out spots six through 10. Francis Marion (36) and UNC Pembroke (12) fill out the poll at 11th and 12th.

The 10th place prognostication is the lowest for the Lady Pacers since the 1999 poll in which they were picked 11th. USCA was coming off a 5-22 season, 0-16 in the PBC, and was under second-year head coach Phil Stern. The results for the 1999-2000 season were better than predicted as the Lady Pacers posted a 15-12 record, placed third in the North Division, and seventh overall.

USCA has two Peach Belt Conference regular season championships (1990-91, 2001-02) and back-to-back North Division titles (2000-02). The Lady Pacers will take part in “Midnight Madness” tonight at “The Courthouse” beginning at 9:00 PM. USCA opens their season on November 15-16 in Jacksonville, FL at the Lady Osprey Tip-Off Classic.

2003-04 Peach Belt Conference
Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll

1. Armstrong Atlantic State (9).................119
2. Columbus State (1)...............................103
3. North Florida (1)....................................100
4. Kennesaw State (1)...............................95
5. Augusta State.........................................66
6. USC Spartanburg....................................63
7. Lander....................................................55
T8. Clayton State........................................52
T8. Georgia College & State.......................52
10. USC Aiken..........................................39
11. Francis Marion.....................................36
12. UNC Pembroke.....................................12

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