Nina Brascetta (l), Jessica Romano (r)PHILAU CHOSEN THIRD IN CACC WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLLS
NEW HAVEN, CT (October 30, 2009) - Bloomfield College and Holy Family University have been chosen to win their respective divisions according to the 2009-10 Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Women's Basketball preseason poll. The voting was very close this year, as conducted by the 14 CACC head coaches. The Lady Deacons were picked to win the North Division, while the Tigers were selected to win the South Division.
Bloomfield collected seven first place votes and 86 points to top the North poll, while Dominican College was close behind with 82 points and six first-place tallies. Caldwell College was third with 73 points and one first-place nod, followed by Nyack College (65), Felician College (40), Post University (24) and conference newcomer, Concordia College (22).
In the South, Holy Family was voted first on five ballots and collected 87 points, while Wilmington University was next with 84 points after also getting five first-place votes. Philadelphia was close behind with 78 points and four first-place votes. Georgian Court was fourth (51), followed by USP (45), Goldey-Beacom (29) and Chestnut Hill (18).
Bloomfield finished second in the North last season with a 10-7 conference mark along with a 14-15 overall record. The Lady Deacons advanced to the semi-finals of the CACC Tournament before falling to eventual champion, Philadelphia University. The team returns nine players including leading scorer and rebounder, Tiffany McDaniel. The 6-1 junior center averaged 11.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per-game and shot 55.1-percent from the field last season. She was named to the All-CACC third team. Also back is junior forward Nichole Hawkins, who averaged 10.25 ppg and 7.0 rpg last season.
Holy Family welcomes back the 2008-09 CACC Player of the Year, junior Catherine Carr, along with two other starters. Carr ranked eighth in the CACC with 15.3 points per-game last season and pulled down 5.9 rebounds per-game. She was recently listed as a pre-season Super-16 team member by the Division II Bulletin. She led the Tigers to an 18-0 conference record last season and a 26-6 overall mark. The Tigers advanced to the semi-finals of the Division II NCAA East Region Tournament, which Holy Family hosted. Also back is senior center Christine McCollum and sophomore guard Lauren Peters. The Tigers, who are ranked ninth in the Division II Bulletin pre-season poll, will be led by first-year head coach, Mark Miller.
Philadelphia took home its first CACC Women's Basketball Tournament Championship last season after upending Wilmington, 72-63, in the final game. Tournament MVP Jessica Romano is back to lead the Lady Rams after ranking second in the CACC with 18.6 ppg, first with 11.0 rpg and third in field-goal percentage (.480) last season. Wilmington welcomes back senior first team All-CACC pick, Amelia Simmons, and second team selection, senior Kim Parker.
The season kicks off on Nov. 15 with eight teams in action, including North Division favorite Bloomfield visiting The College of Saint Rose and Holy Family traveling to Bentley College. The conference season starts on Nov. 18 when Philadelphia travels to Chestnut Hill. Five CACC games are slated for Tuesday, Dec. 8, including Concordia's first conference game, at home against Felician.
North Division
School 2008-09 Records Points
1. Bloomfield (7) 14-15/10-7 CACC 86
2. Dominican (6) 17-12/13-4 82
3. Caldwell (1) 10-18/8-9 73
4. Nyack 17-14/7-10 65
5. Felician 5-22/3-14 40
6. Post 4-23/1-16 24
7. Concordia 4-23/2-16* 22
()-First Place Votes
*-Record as member of ECC
South Division
School 2008-09 Records Points
1. Holy Family (5) 26-6/18-0 CACC 87
2. Wilmington (5) 18-12/11-7 84
3. Philadelphia (4) 21-10/13-5 78
4. Georgian Court 13-14/9-9 51
5. USP 15-13/12-6 45
6. Goldey-Beacom 9-18/5-13 29
7. Chestnut Hill 6-21/4-14 18
()-First Place Votes
