The Radford women’s basketball team was selected as the 2018-19 Big South Conference preseason favorite, it was revealed today at Big South Basketball Media Day, which was held at the Renaissance Suites Hotel in Charlotte, North Carolina. Additionally, Highlander senior forward/guard Destinee Walker earned preseason First Team All-Big South honors and redshirt junior Lydia Rivers was placed on the All-Big South Second Team.
The Highlanders received nine first-place votes from the league’s head coaches and tallied a total of 116 points in the poll. High Point got the remaining two first-place votes and were predicted to finish as the runner-up with 102 points.
“Being picked number one in the preseason is nice and it is great to be recognized by others in the conference,” Highlander sixth-year head coach Mike McGuire admitted. “At the same time, we realize the preseason rankings do not guarantee us anything. They are merely talking points for the season. This is a conference where anyone can beat anyone and we will have a wide open conference race this season. We will work hard to accept the challenge of being picked to win the Big South, which will always be the goal for our program moving forward.”
Walker was an All-Big South Honorable Mention member last season as a junior after averaging 11.0 points per game, which was good for 12th in the league. The Florence, South Carolina native scored double-figures in 19 games and finished with a 41.3 field goal percentage, ranking inside the Top 10 in the Big South. The Highlanders went 12-3 when she was in the starting lineup.
Rivers recovered nicely from a knee injury that forced her to miss the majority of the 2016-17 season. The forward, who made 12 starts, averaged 7.1 points in 25.6 minutes per game. The Kinston, North Carolina product finished second on the team in rebounds per game and was fourth in the Big South (7.7). In addition, she blocked 53 shots, ranking third in the league and 77th nationally.
Radford returns three starters from last year’s team that won the Big South regular-season title and went on to knock off Penn State in the opening round of the WNIT in overtime. Five other returners and five newcomers could give McGuire the depth he needs to make another deep run in March.
“I am excited about this team and the journey ahead this season,” McGuire added. “The group has been fun to work with so far. They come to practice wanting to do well and are determined to improve each day. Teaching them what it takes to be successful at a high level is my daily motivation. I believe our fans will see this team improve tremendously as the season progresses since we have some new faces and new roles that must be established. We’ll learn a great deal about our team during non-conference competition and that experience will prepare us for Big South Conference play.”
2018-19 Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll: Team (first-place votes), Total Points- 1) Radford (9) 116; 2) High Point (2) 102; 3) UNC Asheville, 100; 4) Hampton, 89; 5) Campbell, 81; 6) Charleston Southern, 55; 7) Presbyterian College, 53; 8) Gardner-Webb, 49; 9) USC Upstate, 35; 10) Longwood, 32; and 11) Winthrop, 14.
Note: points are based on a weighted system. First-place votes received 11 points, followed by 10 points for second-place, and so on.
2018-19 Big South Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team: First-Team- Emma Bockrath, High Point (Preseason Player of the Year); Destinee Walker, Radford; Jessica Wall, UNC Asheville; Kacie Hall, Presbyterian College; and K’lynn Willis, Hampton.
Second-Team- Weknyme Dumorne, Charleston Southern; Shea Morgan, High Point; Ky’Asia Stanford, Gardner-Webb; Lydia Rivers, Radford; and Rachel Burns, Charleston Southern.
–RU Athletics
