2021-22 RSC Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll & Team Released
2021-22 RSC Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll & Team Released
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- Two teams begin the 2021-22 women's basketball season in a tie atop the River States Conference. WVU Tech and University of Rio Grande (Ohio) have been voted as co-favorites in the RSC Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll, which was conducted by the 14 head coaches in the league.
The release of the preseason coaches' poll is a part of RSC Women's Basketball Media Day, which is taking place all day on the RSC Facebook page. Tune in starting at 12:00 pm ET to see video interviews from all 14 head coaches in the league and student-athletes from each school.
Also unveiled as part of RSC Media Day is the RSC Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team. Ten players were named to highlight the top returners in the conference as the season begins. Returning all-conference first-teamers and select second-teamers were named to the preseason team.
WVU Tech and Rio Grande, which met in the RSC Championship finals last year, each received 161 votes in the polling of the conference coaches. WVU Tech came out with a victory in the finals and received eight first-place votes this preseason, and Rio Grande received all of the remaining six first-place votes. Nonetheless, the RSC's two NAIA National Championship qualifiers from last season were far out in front of the other 12 teams.
WVU Tech was picked as the favorite in the RSC East Division, right in front of divisional foe Rio Grande. Both teams have two players on the RSC Preseason All-Conference Team. WVU Tech has selections Brittney Justice and Whittney Justice back while Rio Grande has Chyna Chambers and Hailey Jordan.
Midway (Ky.) University was picked third overall of the 14 teams and as the favorite in the RSC West Division. The Eagles received 136 votes in the overall conference polling. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College was predicted next at fourth overall in the conference and second in the RSC West. Alice Lloyd received 118 votes in the overall ballot.
The top four teams from each division will advance to the RSC Championship. Predicted playoff teams in the presason poll also include Indiana University East and Point Park (Pa.) University in the RSC East and Indiana University Kokomo and Oakland City (Ind.) University in the RSC West.
For the complete RSC Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll and the RSC Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team, see below.
The River States Conference has 14 member schools, all of which play basketball. The RSC is represented in five different states -- Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania. The basketball conference is split into RSC East & West Divisions with teams playing home and away inside their division and once across the divisions. This past summer, St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) College and Ohio Valley (W.Va.) University became members of the conference and joined the RSC West and East divisions, respectively.
2021-22 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' PRESEASON POLL (Oct. 14, 2021)
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| T-1. WVU Tech (8) | 161 |
| T-1. Rio Grande (Ohio) (6) | 161 |
| 3. Midway (Ky.) | 136 |
| 4. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) | 118 |
| 5. IU East | 111 |
| 6. Point Park (Pa.) | 96 |
| 7. IU Kokomo | 92 |
| 8. Oakland City (Ind.) | 89 |
| 9. IU Southeast | 81 |
| 10. Ohio Christian | 78 |
| 11. Carlow (Pa.) | 50 |
| 12. Brescia (Ky.) | 45 |
| 13. Ohio Valley (W.Va.) | 32 |
| 14. St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) | 24 |
RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' EAST DIVISION PRESEASON POLL
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. WVU Tech | 80 |
| 2. Rio Grande (Ohio) | 78 |
| 3. IU East | 57 |
| 4. Point Park (Pa.) | 46 |
| 5. Ohio Christian | 39 |
| 6. Carlow (Pa.) | 25 |
| 7. Ohio Valley (W.Va.) | 17 |
RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' WEST DIVISION PRESEASON POLL
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
| School | Name |
| 1. Midway (Ky.) | 79 |
| 2. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) | 68 |
| 3. Oakland City (Ind.) | 59 |
| 4. IU Kokomo | 52 |
| 5. IU Southeast | 45 |
| 6. Brescia (Ky.) | 28 |
| 7. St. Mary-of-the-Woods (Ind.) | 20 |
2021-22 RIVER STATES CONFERENCE WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
| Name | Pos. | Cl. | School |
| Brittney Justice | G | Sr. | WVU Tech |
| Rachel Gillum | F | Jr. | Ohio Christian |
| Haley Hall | G | Sr. | Alice Lloyd (Ky.) |
| Jill Enix | F | Sr. | Midway (Ky.) |
| Michelle Burns | G | Sr. | Point Park (Pa.) |
| Chyna Chambers | G | Sr. | Rio Grande (Ohio) |
| Emilee Hope | G | So. | Oakland City (Ind.) |
| Whittney Justice | G | Sr. | WVU Tech |
| Taylor Rinn | F | Jr. | Point Park (Pa.) |
| Hailey Jordan | F | Jr. | Rio Grande (Ohio) |