ASHEVILLE, N.C. – Once again, the Southern Conference women’s basketball championship will run through Mercer.
The Bears have won four of the last five SoCon titles and the coaches believe Mercer will once again be the team to beat in 2022-23. And there’s plenty of good reasons to believe that will be the case.
Susie Gardner’s club will be led by Southern Conference Preseason Player of the Year Amoria Neal-Tysor. Tysor has been the tournament MVP the past two seasons. She led Mercer in scoring last year with a 16.5 average.
Not surprisingly, the Bears are the preseason selection in both the coaches’ and media poll to win the 2023 championship. The polls and preseason all-tournament team were announced at the SoCon Basketball Media Day presented by Ingles held at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville on Oct. 26.
Mercer will receive stiff challenges by two teams from the Palmetto state. Wofford enjoyed a breakout campaign in 2021-22 with a program-best second-place finish in league play (11-3) and a trip to the WNIT. Furman, which lost to Mercer in last year’s title game and enjoyed its first 20-win season, was selected third. Samford placed two players on the SoCon Preseason All-Southern Conference team and could be a factor.
Following is a look at each team, ranked in order of predicted finish in the coaches’ poll.
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Mercer Bears
Coach: Susie Gardner (395-302 in 23 seasons, 219-155 in 12 seasons with the Bears)
Last season: 23-7 (13-1, first in SoCon)
Outlook: Mercer is the team to beat this season in SoCon as the Bears placed three players on the league’s preseason all-conference team. Amoria Neal-Tysor (16.5 ppg) was third in the league in assists and steals a year ago. Also making the preseason all-conference team are graduate forward Jaron Dougherty (11.7 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and sophomore guard Erin Houpt (9.1 ppg). Houpt was the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year. Oklahoma State transfer Brittany Reeves could make a real impact at center with her size at 6-5.
Top Newcomer: The Bears will have the services of graduate center Brittany Reeves. The 6-5 center comes to Mercer from Oklahoma State where she played the last two years and was a key player for the Cowgirls.
Coaches’ Poll: First in the SoCon
Coaches’ Quote: “When I first got to Mercer, our goal was to become the first team to win a championship and go to the NCAA tournament. When we went the first time, we wanted to go a second time and then a third and then a fourth time. However, we realize every season is different and you just don’t show up and win a championship. We believe we have a good foundation and I like what we have on this year’s team. Like last year, we’re going to play a tough nonconference schedule which will prepare us for a tough Southern Conference.”
Amoria Neal-Tysor Quote: “It was great to win another championship last season but we all know this a new year and we’re all starting at 0-0. To win a championship this year, we’re going to have to do all the little things that you have to do to win close games. I think we have a chance to be a really good team this season because of the returnees we have back plus our newcomers.”
*****
Wofford Terriers
Coach: Jimmy Garrity (150-119 nine seasons, 84-92 in six seasons with the Terriers)
Last season: 17-14 (11-3, second in the SoCon)
Outlook: It was a season to remember for Wofford in 2022 as the Terriers finished a program-best second in the Southern Conference and played in postseason play for the first ever when they participated in the WNIT. The Terriers could be poised to take the next step as they return two experienced players. Fifth-year guard Jackie Carman (12.4 ppg, 2.7 rpg) is one of the best in the SoCon. She’s a member of the league’s preseason all-conference team along with senior forward Lilly Hatton (9.7 ppg, 5.7 rpg). A tough nonconference schedule that includes games at Clemson, North Carolina and Tennessee should prepare the Terriers for SoCon play.
Top Newcomer: Sophomore guard Rachael Rose transfers across town from USC Upstate. She enjoyed a great season with the Spartans last year and was the Big South Freshman of the Year. Rose will help the Terriers immediately.
Coaches’ Poll: Second in the SoCon
Coaches’ Quote: “I am proud of the program and what we accomplished last year. It was a lot of hard work but the credit goes to our players who have done a great job both on and off the court for Wofford. I feel good about this season because we return talented players and have brought in some great freshman plus have a transfer in from USC Upstate in Rachael Rose. We want to continue moving the program upward.”
Jackie Carman Quote: “I want to be more of a leader this season, especially with our four freshmen. We made a lot of strides last year and we want that to continue to this season. Our team has a lot of potential and we just need to make it happen.”
Lilly Hatton Quote: “Last year was such an amazing season for us, especially in Southern Conference play. We were able to establish a lot of firsts for Wofford and we sure don’t want to go backward this year. We have a chance to be great this season and compete for a championship.”
*****
Furman Paladins
Coach: Jackie Carson (194-178 in 12 seasons with the Paladins)
Last season: 20-14 (10-4, third in the SoCon)
Outlook: Hopefully, the regular season will be better than the preseason for the Paladins. Furman suffered two devastating injuries to two key players. Junior guard Tate Walters made the league’s preseason all-conference team as she led the league in assists but tore her Achilles tendon in practice on Oct. 24 and will miss the season. Sophomore guard Niveya Henley made the conference’s All-Freshman team last year but tore her ACL in the summer. The Paladins still have talent that could make them a threat to Mercer. Start with fifth-year senior Grace van Rij (10.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg). The 6-2 forward is talented and a threat to score inside. Sophomore guard Janay Outten dished out 63 assists last year. Junior guard Sydney James (8.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg) was the Southern Conference Freshman of the Year in 2020-21 and should be ready for a big season.
Top Newcomer: Freshman guard Ella Riggs (5-9, Fr.) comes to Furman from Indian Hills HS in Cincinnati, where she completed her career as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Coaches’ Poll: Third in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “We all know injuries are an unfortunate part of the game; however, when you see the work and hours your athletes put in to prepare for a season, it makes it much harder to have their season taken away before they play their first game. We’re going to find a way, though. We just are going to have a find different path than the one we thought we would be taking.”
Grace van Rij Quote: “Last year was the best season of basketball I’ve ever been through. The accomplishments we had were so gratifying but it’s just made us hungrier to accomplish more this year and take the next step.”
*****
Samford Bulldogs
Coach: Carley Kuhns (111-71 in six seasons, 45-42 in three years with the Bulldogs)
Last season: 13-17 (7-7, fourth in the SoCon)
Outlook: A team to watch out for in the SoCon this year is the Samford Bulldogs. Samford struggled through injuries last season but if it stays healthy, this team could challenge Mercer. The Bulldogs return some talent as they placed two players on the preseason all-conference team. They are senior guard Andrea Cournoyer, who was the SoCon’s third-leading scorer a year ago. She’ll be aided by sophomore center Sussy Ngulefac (9.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg), a member of the league’s All-Freshman team last season, and the league media’s co-Freshman of the Year.
Top Newcomer: Emily Bowman is a 6-5 redshirt freshman who transferred from Vanderbilt. She redshirted last season after playing eight games at Vanderbilt two years ago.
Coaches’ Poll: Fourth in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “We have a healthy balance of returnees and new faces on our team this year. We have some pieces to our program that we haven’t had in the past. We have added depth in the post and have some forwards who can shoot the basketball.”
Andrea Cournoyer Quote: “I decided to come back for a fifth year because there’s some unfinished business for me. I’d really like to play in the NCAA tournament before my career is over. We learned a lot last season and we’re anxious to come back this season and have a better year. Our team has a great deal of potential with our returnees and some talented new faces. If we all stay on the same page, we’re going to make some noise in this league this year.”
*****
Chattanooga Mocs
Coach: Shawn Poppie (First year as head coach, first season as head coach of the Mocs)
Last season: 7-23 (5-9, fifth in the SoCon)
Outlook: Chattanooga was once the dominant program in the SoCon but fell on hard times last year with just seven wins. But better days could be coming with first-year coach Shawn Poppie, who comes to the Scenic City from Virginia Tech. The Mocs return four starters from a year ago and have some impressive newcomers that could make Chattanooga competitive right away. Graduate forward Abbey Cornelius (13.2 ppg, 8.9 rpg) was selected to the preseason all-conference team. She led the league in blocked shots last year. There’s experience in the backcourt with Amaria Pugh (8.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and Sigrun Olafsdottir (6.5 ppg, 2.8 apg) returning. Stetson transfer Yazz Wazeerun-Din will also make an impact in the backcourt.
Top Newcomer: Yazz Wazeerud-Din is a graduate transfer from Stetson who enjoyed a great two-year career with the Hatters. She is a 5-11 guard who averaged 13.7 points per game and knocked down 99 3-pointers. Wazeerud-Din should give the Mocs’ backcourt an immediate jolt this year.
Coaches’ Poll: Fifth in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “I know the tradition of the Chattanooga program and that made me very intrigued with taking this job. The support and the resources are in place and I just thought this would be a great place to be a head coach. We’ve got some good returnees back plus we’ve added some newcomers who should be able to help us this season. We’re going to play inside-out and play good team basketball. Our goal is trying to change the mindset from a team that won seven games last year. We want to go from good to great but we need to put the work in to make that happen.”
Yazz Wazeerud-Din Quote: “I wanted to continue my career at a place that would have my best interests going forward plus develop me as a player. I love Chattanooga and the program. We’re going to be good this season. Our team has really begun to come together and we’re going to surprise a lot of people this year.”
*****
ETSU Buccaneers
Coach: Brenda Mock Brown (117-136 in eight seasons, first season with the Bucs)
Last season: 6-22 (5-9, sixth in the SoCon)
Outlook: ETSU has its third head coach in three years as former UNC Asheville mentor Brenda Mock Brown became the Buccaneers’ head coach in August. Brown did a great job in Asheville with the Bulldogs and despite being hired so late, she managed to get some new players into the program. ETSU will be young with five freshmen and seven sophomores on its roster. The Bucs’ top returnee is sophomore guard Courtney Moore (8.9 ppg), as she led the team in assists (66), steals (34) and 3-pointers made (48). Two graduate seniors should help the program in 5-10 guard Jayla Ruffus-Milner (Pepperdine) and 5-9 guard Jiselle Thomas (Temple)
Top Newcomer: Jiselle Thomas began her career at High Point before transferring to Florida International, where she averaged 16.9 points per game in 2020-21. She averaged six points at Temple last season.
Coaches’ Poll: Sixth in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “Getting hired in August is not ideal but we’ve hit the ground running and everyone has worked hard. We have nine new players in the program and that takes some time to get into a natural rhythm. We’re going to be a young team with five freshmen on our roster, but the ceiling is high for all of them to be good players. We are going to play a very tough nonconference schedule, as we open the season at (defending national champion) South Carolina, play Vanderbilt at home and in a tournament at Las Vegas. Those games should help prepare us for conference play.”
Courtney Moore Quote: “The transition to Coach Brown has really gone well. She does a great job of pushing all of us to our full potential. I think we have a chance to be pretty good this year once we come together and build our chemistry.”
*****
UNC Greensboro Spartans
Coach: Trina Patterson (267-396 in 23 seasons, 84-96 in six seasons with the Spartans)
Last season: 9-19 (5-9, fifth in the SoCon)
Outlook: A lack of offense really hurt UNCG last season as the Spartans averaged 54.3 points per game and shot just 25 percent from the 3-point line. Four starters returning should improve the Spartans this season. Sophomore guard Isys Grady (9.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg) led the team in scoring a year ago. Junior forward Khalis Cain (5.6 ppg, 6.9 rpg) should be a factor inside for the Spartans. UNCG welcomes two transfer guards who should help the Spartans improve their scoring this year. Graduate transfer Akira Wiggins was a 1,000-point scorer at Barton College, while senior Faith Price helped lead Campbell to a Big South regular-season title a year ago.
Top Newcomer: Senior guard Faith Price (5-7) joins the Spartan program, and she should immediately help UNCG from beyond the arc. She was one of the top 3-point shooters in the Big South Conference during her time at Campbell and averaged 12.1 points per game a year ago.
Coaches’ Poll: Seventh in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “After last season, we knew had to take a deep dive into our program and do some revamping. The biggest thing we needed to address was our scoring and to improve our 3-point shooting. We’ve taken steps to improve in those areas and hopefully we will show that on the court this year.”
Nia Howard Quote: “The thing that I’ve worked hardest on from last year to this season is my aggressiveness. I’m hungry to have success this year and I had the confidence to do that because my coaches have put their trust in me.”
*****
Western Carolina Catamounts
Coach: Kiley Hill (312-254 in 20 seasons, 18-59 in three years with the Catamounts)
Last season: 7-23 (0-14, eighth in the SoCon)
Outlook: There’s nowhere else to go but up for a Western Carolina program that was decimated by injuries by the time they got to league play. The Cats got off to an encouraging 3-1 start and had a respectable 6-8 record entering the conference. But injuries piled up and WCU was unable to win a conference game. The Cats should be better by welcoming back graduate guard Kyla Allison. She missed last season with a knee injury and that really set WCU back. Two seasons ago, Allison averaged 10.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. She will make the Cats better right away. Junior swing player Zanoria Cruz (8.7 ppg, 2.9 rpg) is also back. Senior center Endia Holliday (6.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg) should be better in the post after last season. Junior guard Joi Reid made the SoCon All-Defensive team. WCU brings in seven newcomers to try to make 2022-23 a better year in Cullowhee.
Top Newcomer: Junior guard Mya Love transfers in from Arkansas State, where she was a part-time starter in the backcourt. She should help the Cats’ backcourt.
Coaches’ Poll: Eighth in the SoCon
Coach’s Quote: “Our returners and new upperclassmen have shown an amazing ability to value time, words and opportunity while allowing our freshmen the chance to get their feet on solid ground. This will allow us to grow with the massive potential this group is blessed to solidify and enhance.”
Kyla Allison Quote: “We’re going to surprise some people this year with our play. We’ve worked hard in the offseason and I know we’re going to be a lot better than people think this season.”