ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Mercer Bears were tabbed as the preseason favorites to win the Southern Conference women’s basketball title for the 2022-23 season, according to a vote by the league’s head coaches. Mercer graduate student guard Amoria Neal-Tysor was named the SoCon Preseason Player of the Year. The league’s media also predicted Mercer, the 2022 Southern Conference tournament champion, to win the SoCon title in 2022-23.
Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams or student-athletes as part of the balloting.
Mercer finished the 2021-22 campaign 23-7 overall and 13-1 in SoCon play, winning the Ingles SoCon Women’s Basketball Championship for the fourth time in five seasons. Susie Gardner’s team returns four starters, three of whom earned spots on the preseason all-conference team, as graduate student forward Jaron Dougherty, Neal-Tysor, the Most Outstanding Player of the SoCon tournament in 2022, and sophomore guard Erin Houpt, the reigning Freshman of the Year, were chosen.
Mercer picked up seven of the eight possible first-place votes in the coaches poll. The Bears earned 49 points from the coaches. Wofford, who competed in the WNIT in 2021-22, picked up 40 points to finish second, while Furman was third with 37 points, including garnering the final first-place vote. The Terriers, who placed tied for third in the media poll, placed two players on the preseason all-conference team in senior guard Jackie Carman and senior forward Lilly Hatton. Carman was a first-team All-SoCon selection in 2021-22, while Hatton was a second-team selection last season.
Furman, which finished last season 20-14 overall and 10-4 in SoCon play and made a postseason appearance in the WBI Tournament, had two players, graduate student forward Grace van Rij and junior guard Tate Walters, named to the preseason all-conference team. Walters, a second-team all-conference selection in 2021-22, finished last season fifth in the SoCon in scoring at 12.9 points per game.
Samford was picked fourth in the coaches poll with 33 points and were tied for third in the media poll with 58 points, including a first-place vote. Senior guard Andrea Cournoyer and sophomore center Sussy Ngulefac were named to the preseason all-conference team for the Bulldogs. Cournoyer was a first-team all-conference and all-defensive team selection in 2021-22, while Ngulefac was named to the all-freshman team a season ago.
Chattanooga was picked fifth by the coaches and media with 25 points and 40 points, respectively. Senior forward Abbey Cornelius, who averaged 13.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in 2021-22, earned a spot on the preseason all-conference team.
UNCG took sixth in the media poll (30) and seventh in the coaches poll (14). Sophomore guard/forward Isys Grady earned a spot on the preseason all-conference team. Grady made the all-freshman team in 2021-22 after finishing in the top 15 in the SoCon in points (9.8), rebounds (6.6), steals (1.2) and blocks (0.6) per game last season.
ETSU took sixth in the coaches poll (15) and seventh in the media poll (20). Western Carolina was picked eighth in both polls, earning 11 points in the coaches poll and 16 from the media.
Six teams were represented on the 11-member SoCon preseason all-conference team, which features an extra player due to a tie in voting. Mercer placed three on the team, while Furman, Samford and Wofford each placed two.
The Southern Conference will conduct its SoCon Basketball Media Day presented by Ingles on Wednesday at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center Asheville, with interviews with each coach and player representatives conducted by Pete Yanity airing on ESPN+ beginning at 10 a.m. Eastern on Thursday.
The 2022-23 season gets under way on Monday, Nov. 7, with seven teams in action. Furman kicks off its season a day later. The 2023 Ingles Southern Conference Championship will be held March 2-5 at the Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina.
2022-23 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes) Total
| 1. Mercer (7) |
49 |
| 2. Wofford |
40 |
| 3. Furman (1) |
37 |
| 4. Samford |
33 |
| 5. Chattanooga |
25 |
| 6. ETSU |
15 |
| 7. UNCG |
14 |
| 8. Western Carolina |
11 |
2022-23 Preseason Player of the Year
Amoria Neal-Tysor, Gr., G, Mercer
2022-23 Preseason All-Southern Conference Team
Grace van Rij, Gr., F/C, Furman
Tate Walters, Jr., G, Furman
Jaron Dougherty, Gr., F, Mercer
Erin Houpt, So., G, Mercer
Amoria Neal-Tysor, Gr., G, Mercer
Isys Grady, So., G/F, UNCG
Andrea Cournoyer, Sr., G, Samford
Sussy Ngulefac, So., C, Samford
Abbey Cornelius, Gr., F, Chattanooga
Jackie Carman, Sr., G, Wofford
Lilly Hatton, Sr., F, Wofford
2022-23 Preseason Southern Conference Media Poll
Team (1st-place votes) Total
| 1. Mercer (8) |
78 |
| 2. Furman (1) |
60 |
| T3. Samford (1) |
58 |
| T3. Wofford |
58 |
| 5. Chattanooga |
40 |
| 6. UNCG |
30 |
| 7. ETSU |
20 |
| 8. Western Carolina |
16 |