Maryville College, under the direction of Head Coach Darrin Travillian in his fifth year, was picked in the preseason coaches poll to capture the USA South Athletic Conference women's basketball title in 2016. Covenant was tabbed 12th out of 13 schools.
Last winter, the Maryville Scots earned the South Division Regular Season title for the second consecutive season. There are no divisional standings in women's basketball for the upcoming season as have been the previous two years.
Maryville received 11 of 13 first place votes and 143 total points. The head coaches do not vote for their own team in the preseason poll process.
Ferrum College finished second in the balloting with 122 points while Piedmont College was third with 120 points and the final two first-place votes. LaGrange College placed fourth in the voting with 107 points as last season's USA South Tournament Champions, Greensboro College, checked in at the fifth spot with 105 votes. Rounding out the top-half of the poll was Methodist University in sixth and Averett University in seventh with 91 and 82 points, respectively.
The women's basketball regular season gets underway on Friday, Nov. 13, as six of the league's 13 teams are in action.
The 2016 USA South Tournament will head back to campus sites as the top seeded team will host all three of its rounds. The tournament will begin on Thursday, Feb. 25, and conclude on Saturday, Feb. 27. If the host institution's men's team also earns the right to host, the women's tournament will continue to be held Thursday-Saturday while the men's tournament will shift to Wednesday-Friday, Feb. 24-26. The top-eight seeded teams after the conclusion of regular season competition will advance to the tournament.
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2015-16 USA South Women's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
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Rank
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Institution (1st Place Votes)
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Pts.
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1.
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Maryville (11)
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143
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2.
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Ferrum
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122
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3.
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Piedmont (2)
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120
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4.
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LaGrange
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107
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5.
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Greensboro
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105
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6.
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Methodist
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91
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7.
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Averett
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82
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8.
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Meredith
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71
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9.
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Huntingdon
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54
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10.
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N.C. Wesleyan
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41
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11.
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William Peace
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35
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12.
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Covenant
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31
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13.
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Mary Baldwin
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12
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