 AIKEN,
S.C.--In the closest balloting in history, Armstrong Atlantic State
has been tabbed as the team to beat in the race for the 2004-05 Peach
Belt Conference women’s basketball regular season championship.
According to a poll of the league’s 12 head coaches released
by the conference office on Wednesday morning at the PBC Media Day,
AASU collected three first-place votes totaling 106 points to edge
Georgia College & State University by two points and defending
PBC Champions Lander by four points.
USC Aiken was picked 10th in the 12-team league with 41 points, two behind ninth-place
Clayton State.
GC&SU received five first-place votes while Lander and North Florida each
earned two top tallies. UNF was tabbed fourth in the polling with 86 points followed
by Columbus State (82) in fifth and Augusta State (65) at number six. As a conference,
the PBC had its most successful season ever in 2003-04 sending five teams to
the NCAA South Atlantic Regional.
The Lady Pacers are coming off a 14-14 mark, the program’s fifth consecutive
non-losing season. That run trails only North Florida and Kennesaw State for
longest active streak in the PBC. A disappointing 6-10 conference record, however,
forced the Lady Pacers to settle for fourth in the North and eighth overall.
Third-year head coach Mike Brandt welcomes back seven returners including three
starters. Point guard Mindy Allee, who went down with a torn ACL in the fifth
game of last season and received a medical redshirt, acts as a fourth returning
starter joining sharpshooter Kasey Mills and post players Lana Mandic and Benazura
Serbecic. USCA returns 60.0 percent of its scoring and 57.8 percent of its rebounding.
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 open the 2004-05 season at the Eighth Annual Disney Division
II Tip-Off Classic on November 5-7 in Orlando, Fla. In what is considered
the most prestigious Division II event aside from the NCAA Elite Eight, the
Tip-Off Classic will be held at the Disney Wide World of Sports Milk House
Arena (5,000). USCA opens the tournament against Henderson State (Ark.) on
Friday, November 5 at 8:30 PM.
2004-05 Peach Belt Conference
Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Team..............................................Points
1. Armstrong Atlantic State (3)........106
2. Georgia College & State (5).........104
3. Lander (2)....................................102
4. North Florida...................................86
5. Columbus State..............................82
6. Augusta State................................65
7. Kennesaw State............................61
8. Francis Marion...............................58
9. Clayton State.................................43
10. USC Aiken.................................41
11. USC Upstate................................24
12. UNC Pembroke............................20
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