Winthrop Women’s Basketball Picked To Finish Ninth In Big South
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) – High Point University and Gardner-Webb University have been chosen as the favorites in the Big South Conference’s annual preseason women’s basketball poll for the 2022-23 season, it was announced this morning.
For the first time since 2009-10 and just the second time in league history, two schools tied for the top spot in the women’s poll. High Point, the 2021 Big South Champion, and Gardner-Webb each finished with 92 points from the voting panel. HPU received five of the 10 first-place votes, while GWU collected four top plaudits. The Panthers return five starters and 10 letterwinners from 2021-22, and the Runnin’ Bulldogs have four starters back along with 11 letterwinners. High Point is the preseason favorite for the second consecutive year and third time overall, while Gardner-Webb is in the top spot for the first time.
Campbell was voted third in the women’s poll with 86 points and received the remaining first-place vote. Radford placed fourth in the poll with 55 points, just ahead of UNC Asheville’s 52 points. Defending Champion Longwood finished with 51 points for the sixth spot, followed by Presbyterian College in seventh with 42 points. USC Upstate was eighth in the poll with 29 points, with Winthrop landing in the ninth position with 28 points. Charleston Southern (10th, 23 points) rounded out the women’s preseason poll.
The college basketball season tips off Monday, Nov. 7. The first conference date of the 18-game league schedule is Thursday, Dec. 29, and the season culminates with the 2023 Hercules Tires Big South Women’s Basketball Championship March 1-5 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C.
2022-23 Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Rk – School (first-place votes) Points
T-1 – High Point (5) 92
T-1 – Gardner-Webb (4) 92
3 – Campbell (1) 86
4 – Radford 55
5 – UNC Asheville 52
6 – Longwood 51
7 – Presbyterian College 42
8 – USC Upstate 29
9 – Winthrop 28
10 – Charleston Southern 23
Note: points are based on a weighted system. First-place votes received 10 points, followed by nine points for second-place, and so on.
