The Missouri Southern women’s basketball team was picked to finish 10th in the Mid-American Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) preseason coaches poll that was released on Tuesday as part of the MIAA’s Virtual Media Day.
The Lions finished 10-18 overall last season and 7-12 in the MIAA, as they secured a berth into the postseason tournament last March.
“We’re just excited to get started,” Lions coach Ronnie Ressel said during Tuesday’s virtual press conference. “We get to play in a week and a half. It’s 22 games that we get to play this year. Probably back in August we didn’t think we’d get this opportunity. Of course, it’s the MIAA. So every game is going to be a battle and a challenge. But we’re just extremely excited to get the opportunity.”
Southern has eight players back from last year’s team, with six having starting experience.
Leading the charge will be 6-foot-3 senior center Zoe Campbell, who finished the season with a conference-best 62 blocks and was third on the team in scoring (8.8 ppg).
Fellow seniors Brooke Stauffer and Megan Jackson will help guide the Lions through an all-MIAA schedule. Juniors Layne Skiles and Kaiulani Jones and sophomores Emily Kuntze and Madi Stokes add depth.
Junior Amaya Johns is a transfer from Frank Phillips College and senior Carley Turnbull transferred from Monmouth College.
Freshmen on the roster are Kaitlin Hunnicutt, Hailey Grant, Anna Hall and Biance Stocks.
“Our returning kids, they understand the MIAA,” Ressel said. “We’re excited about our transfers and four freshmen. They’ve worked extremely hard in our preseason and I think they’ve done a really good job of buying in and competing everyday.”
Emporia State topped the coaches poll with four first-place votes. Nebraska-Kearney followed up in second with the most first-place votes being selected with six, while defending regular season and MIAA tournament champions Central Missouri slotted in third with three first-place votes. Pittsburg State and Fort Hays State rounded out the top five with the Tigers picking up a first-place vote.
The Lions will head to Edmond, Oklahoma to open up the 2020-21 season with Central Oklahoma on Nov. 19 at 5:30.
“Getting off to a good start will be important,” Ressel said. “In our league, there’s no easy games. So it will be extremely important to get off to a good start. With everything going on with COVID and everything else, I think it will be a battle to see who can stay the healthiest. I think a team that has some depth can have a lot of success this year because you don’t know from week to week what you’re going to have. It’s going to be important that every kid is prepared and ready to play.”
2020-2021 MIAA Women’s Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll
- Emporia State (4) – 153 points
- Nebraska Kearney (6) – 146 points
- Central Missouri (3) – 143 points
- Pittsburg State – 140 points
- Fort Hays State (1) – 125 points
- Missouri Western – 109 points
- Central Oklahoma – 104 points
- Washburn – 79 points
- Northwest Missouri – 76 points
- Missouri Southern – 65 points
- Newman – 55 points
- Northeastern State – 37 points
- Rogers State – 28 points
- Lincoln – 14 points
