ROCK HILL, S.C. – With the start of the 2017-18 basketball season less than 3 days away, Anderson University women's basketball has been projected to finish third in the 2017 South Atlantic Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Poll, while sophomores Alexy Mollenhauer (second team) and Madison Baggett (second team) were named to the preseason teams, announced by the league office on Wednesday.
Last season, the Trojans finished tied for second after regular season play with an 18-4 conference record. Despite falling to Catawba in the SAC quarterfinal round, Anderson was chosen as a No. 8 seed making it the 11th overall appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
Defending tournament champion Wingate was picked to take the conference crown with 97 points, while the SAC regular season champion Lincoln Memorial was picked to finish second after collecting one first place vote and a total of 85 points. The Black and Gold earned three first place votes coming in third just behind LMU with 84 points. Carson-Newman landed in the fourth spot with 74 points while Newberry finished fifth with 71 points.
Catawba, which ended Anderson's SAC Tournament bid drops in the sixth position. Lenoir-Rhyne sits in the seventh slot with 40 points with Tusculum landing in the eight spot with 36 points.
Queens, Coker and Mars Hill rounded out the annual poll, respectively, all finishing the 2016-17 season with 5-17 conference records.
Last season, Mollenhauer became the third Trojan in program history and first since joining the SAC in 2010 to earn Freshman of the Year honors after former standouts Leann Segers (2002-2003) and LaShonda Chiles (2003-2004) claimed the honor for the Black and Gold.
The Lindale, Texas native posted four 20-point games for the Trojans and notched double-digits in scoring in 16 contests for Anderson last season. Mollenhauer recorded her first career double-double with a career-high 28 points and 10 rebounds while adding a career-high five blocked shots against league leading Lincoln Memorial. During the same week, Mollenhauer poured in 22 points while grabbing nine rebounds against Wingate. For her efforts, Mollenhauer was named to her first AstroTurf SAC Player of the Week to end the regular season.
Baggett was instrumental for the Black and Gold's success during the 2016-17 campaign. Baggett started 23-of-28 contests while averaging 8.9 points, 5.3 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game from the point guard position. The native from Huntsville, Ala. ranked top five in the SAC in 3-point percentage (43.7) while ranking 17th in field goal percentage (46.5). Baggett's efforts landed her on the All-SAC Freshman team announced at the conclusion of SAC regular season play.
Baggett scored a career-high 22 points twice while grabbing a career-high 10 rebounds three times throughout the season. Baggett's stellar freshman year was highlighted by a triple-double (15 pts-10 rbs- 10 ast) she recorded in a home win against Carson-Newman on Feb. 9. The recorded triple-double was only the third in program history with Baggett becoming only the second player to achieve the feat.
Anderson will get its 2017-18 season underway on Nov. 10 when it locks up with nonconference opponent Clayton State at the SAC/PBC Challenge hosted by Wingate. Tip-off is scheduled for 5 p.m.
2017-18 Preseason Team
First Team
Danasia Witherspoon, Wingate (R)
Terri Rogers, Catawba (R)
Mika Wester, Carson-Newman (R)
Shea Coker, Lincoln Memorial (R)
Marta Miscenko, Wingate (R)
Meg Essex, Newberry (R)
Second Team
Nicola Handreck, Newberry (R)
Alexy Mollenhauer, Anderson
Kasey Jonhson, Tusculum
Madison Baggett, Anderson
Madi Suddreth, Lenoir-Rhyne
Serena Brown, Catawba
(R) – Returning Player
2017-18 Women's Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Votes) Total
1. Wingate (7) 97
2. Lincoln Memorial (1) 85
3. Anderson (3) 84
4. Carson-Newman 74
5. Newberry 71
6. Catawba 56
7. Lenoir-Rhyne 40
8. Tusculum 36
9. Queens 30
10. Coker 21
11. Mars Hill 11