Rock Hill, S.C. - The Lenoir-Rhyne Women's Basketball Team was voted to finish second in the 2012-13 South Atlantic Conference Preseason Coaches Poll, league officials announced this afternoon.
Wingate, winners of both the SAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships last season, received seven of the 10 first-place votes and was picked to repeat.
The Bulldogs also advanced to the finals of the 2012 NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Tournament while the Bears received a total of 66 points including one first-place vote.
Meanwhile, Lenoir-Rhyne senior guard Whitley Culler (Mount Airy, N.C.) was named to the all-conference preseason first team.
Culler finished second on the squad last season in scoring at 13.8 points per game to go along with a team-high eight rebounds per contest en route to all-league second-team accolades.
Lenoir-Rhyne returns four starters from a squad that finished 19-9 last season including an 11-7 mark in conference play. The Bears also tied for third in the league standings.
L-R opens its season on Wednesday, November 14, against Limestone in Gaffney, S.C., beginning at 5:30 p.m. Lenoir-Rhyne does face James Madison, an NCAA Division I school, on Saturday, November 3, in Harrisonburg, Va., beginning at 4:00 p.m., in an exhibition.
2012-13 South Atlantic Conference
Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Wingate 78 (7)
2. Lenoir-Rhyne 66 (1)
3. Newberry 58 (1)
4. Tusculum 54
5. Catawba 51 (1)
6. Lincoln Memorial 40
7. Carson-Newman 39
8. Anderson 37
9. Mars Hill 15
10. Brevard 11
2012-13 All-South Atlantic Conference
Women's Basketball Preseason Teams
First Team
Kendal Baxter, Tusculum*
Whitley Culler, Lenoir-Rhyne*
Alissa Diaz, Anderson*
Haylee Lepaio, Newberry*^
Chloe Bully, Catawba^
Neicey Lewis, Newberry
Second Team
Breonda Shannon, Anderson
Armeka Booker, Mars Hill^
Janitsha Williams, Wingate
April McCann, Tusculum
Micheala Watkins, Brevard
Sierra Simpson, Anderson^
* 2011-12 All-SAC Second Team
^ 2011-12 SAC All-Freshman Team