NEC RELEASES WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL; HEAD COACH MARY BURKE COMMENTS ON UPCOMING DIVISION I SEASON

 November 5, 2008

NEC RELEASES WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL; HEAD COACH MARY BURKE COMMENTS ON UPCOMING DIVISION I SEASON

SOMERSET, N.J. - After four-straight 20-win seasons and a pair of conference championships in as many years, the Robert Morris University women's basketball team looks to three-peat in the Northeast Conference, tabbed as the preseason favorite as announced by the league Wednesday morning.

Receiving four of 11 first-place votes, the Colonials just edged last year's regular-season co-champs, Quinnipiac University, who also received four first-place votes and a second-place finish prediction.

The Pioneers of Sacred Heart University get the third-place nod with a trio of winning votes, also placing a pair on the preseason all-conference team. Monmouth University and Fairleigh Dickinson University round out the top five, while Long Island University, Mount St. Mary's and Saint Francis (PA) follow, respectively.

The Terriers of St. Francis (NY) and the Seahawks of Wagner College come in knotted in the nine spot, while Central Connecticut State University rounds out the poll at No. 11.

But the Northeast Conference coaches haven't been correct in their predictions in the last three seasons. The last time the preseason favorite was the same as the team that raised the trophy at the end of the year was in 2004-05, when Saint Francis (PA) was tabbed as the victor.

And while Bryant University doesn't appear in the NEC preseason poll as it begins its first of a four-year integration process into its future home, 17-year head coach Mary Burke was on hand to provide insight into the Bulldogs' Division I transition, recruiting game, returning players and a number of other hot topics.

"We are very excited here at Bryant to be moving in the Northeast Conference," said Burke. "With every player returning with the exception of one [graduated point guard Lynne-Ann Kokoski], we feel we will be returning some experience to this transition phase.

"With some of our top-quality players retuning we will be in a position to be competitive in NEC," Burke continued. "The fact that we do have the majority of the team returning and four key starters back, that will help in the transition. These next two years should be good, competitive years for us in the NEC."

Those key returners include top and second-leading scorers junior Kelsey O'Keefe (Warren, Mass.) and senior co-captain Cara Johnson (Endicott, N.Y.). O'Keefe, the Bulldogs' leading scorer and rebounder in both of her previous seasons in Smithfield, R.I., will be an integral part of Bryant's inaugural Division I season in 2008-09.

"Her mission is to prove that not only was she a very good Division II player," Burke said of O'Keefe, "she is ready to go out and prove that she is a quality Division I player as well."

As for being competitive over the next two years, Burke will count on the experience of her current six-woman junior class, a group that includes O'Keefe.

"The players are definitely up for the challenge," said Burke. "We're really looking to set standards and goals as far as some of the top teams in the league. We're going to go out and compete and prove that we belong in the league."

The Bulldogs become a core member of the NEC and are eligible for full consideration in the league in 2012-23.

Bryant will play its final exhibition contest on Saturday, Nov. 8, hosting Bishop's University (Can.) in a 6 p.m. matchup at the Chace Athletic Center before kicking off its 2008-09 Division I schedule against the America East's University of New Hampshire on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m.

2008-09 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
     1.  Robert Morris (4)
     2.  Quinnipiac (4) 
     3.  Sacred Heart (3)
     4.  Monmouth 
     5.  Fairleigh Dickinson
     6.  Long Island
     7.  Mount St. Mary's
     8.  Saint Francis (PA)
     9.  St. Francis (NY)
          Wagner
    11. Central Connecticut State

 First place votes in parentheses ().

2008-09 Northeast Conference Women's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
6-1 senior forward Jennifer Bender, Monmouth
5-8 senior guard Erin Kerner, Quinnipiac            
6-0 senior guard Sade Logan, Robert Morris
5-11 senior forward Stephanie Ryan, Sacred Heart
6-4 senior center Kaitlin Sowinski, Sacred Heart