Women's Basketball Picked 11^th in Preseason NE-10 Poll

South Easton, Mass. - The Bryant Women's Basketball team has been picked to finish 11^th in the 2006-07 Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll. The Bulldogs finished 9-18 in 2005-06.

Led by captains Joanna Skiba (Providence, R.I.) and Erin Murphy (Albany, N.Y.), Bryant will open its season against Queens on November 17^th as part of the Bryant Tip-Off Tournament on Friday November 17^th at 5:30 p.m at the Chace Center.

Conference play will begin November 21^st against St. Anselm at the Chace Center.

The Yellow Jackets of American International College, with six first place votes, have been picked to win the Northeast-10 Regular Season Championship, as they were selected the favorite in the 2006-07 women's basketball preseason coaches' poll. American International r advanced all the way to the NCAA Division II Championship game in Hot Springs, Ark.

Southern Connecticut State University trailed American International by just three overall tallies and garnered seven preseason nods to win the league as the Owls finished with 210 points in the poll. Southern Connecticut claimed both the 2005-2006 Northeast-10 Regular Season Championship and also the Tournament title.

Stonehill College closed out a tight race for the top three spots, garnering 197 points and the two remaining first place votes. The College of Saint Rose, with 177 points, and Bentley College, with 167 points, rounded out the top five respectively.

Assumption College (130), Pace University (127) and Saint Michael's College (117), claimed the sixth, seventh and eighth spots on the poll, while The University of Massachusetts Lowell (102) and Franklin Pierce College (101) finished in a narrow race for ninth and tenth positions in the poll. The remainder of the poll included Bryant University (73), Southern New Hampshire University (72), Le Moyne College (47), Merrimack College (36) and Saint Anselm College (31).

Sponsoring 23 championship sports and 15 full-time members, the Northeast-10 is the second largest NCAA Division II athletic conference in the nation and sponsors the most championships of any Division II conference.