Sept. 5, 2001
RICHMOND, VA -- The Colonial Athletic Association today announced its women's pre-season basketball poll results and Old Dominion was a unanimous pick to claim its 11th consecutive championship.
The Lady Monarchs return all 12 letterwinners from last year's squad which went 21-9 overall and 15-1 in the CAA. Head coach Wendy Larry's squad has never lost a CAA Tournament game and hasn't dropped more than one regular-season league contest in a year since 1991-92. CAA Tournament runner-up James Madison was picked to finish second in 2001-02, followed by George Mason and CAA newcomer Delaware.
Three ODU players were selected to the pre-season All-CAA team, with senior forward/center Lucienne Berthieu (Rennes, France) tabbed as the Pre-Season Player of the Year. Berthieu averaged 17.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game to earn CAA Player of the Year honors in 1999-2000, but missed all of last season after suffering an ACL tear in her knee. Also picked to the team were senior forward Hamchetou Maiga (Bamako, Mali), the 2000-01 CAA Player of the Year, and junior guard Okeisha Howard (Va. Beach, VA), a first-team All-CAA choice. Maiga was sixth in the CAA in scoring (13.7 ppg) and fourth in rebounding (7.4 rpg) last year, while Howard was the league's third-leading scorer at 14.2 ppg.
A pair of first-team All-CAA selections from a year ago join the ODU trio on the pre-season squad. Virginia Commonwealth senior guard Rochelle Luckett led the conference in scoring (14.8 ppg) and steals (4.3 spg) and was third in assists (5.9 apg) in 2000-01. James Madison junior forward Nadine Morgan ranked seventh in the CAA in both scoring (13.1 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg).
The 2001-02 season marks the start of the "New CAA", as the University of Delaware, Drexel University, Hofstra University and Towson University join the league's ranks that also include George Mason University, James Madison University, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, Old Dominion University, Virginia Commonwealth University and the College of William and Mary.
CAA PRE-SEASON WOMEN'S BASKETBALL POLL(as selected by CAA head women's basketball coaches)
1. Old Dominion (10 first-place votes) 1002. James Madison 893. George Mason 754. Delaware 685. Virginia Commonwealth 586. Drexel 527. William and Mary 428. Hofstra 309. UNC Wilmington 2510. Towson 11
(10 points awarded for first-place vote, 9 for second, etc.)
PRE-SEASON ALL-CAA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
Player, Team Pos.Cl.Ht.Hometown 2000-01 StatsOkeisha Howard, ODUGJr.5-5Virginia Beach, VA 14.2 ppg, 3.3 rpgRochelle Luckett, VCUGSr.5-7Capitol Heights, MD 14.8 ppg, 3.6 rpgLucienne Berthieu, ODUF/CSr.6-2Rennes, France 17.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg*Nadine Morgan, JMUFJr.5-10Stone Mountain, GA 13.1 ppg, 7.0 rpgHamchetou Maiga, ODUFSr.6-1Bamako, Mali1 3.7 ppg, 7.4 rpg
* 1999-2000 stats, injured in 2000-01
CAA Pre-Season Player of the Year: Lucienne Berthieu, Old Dominion
Others receiving votes: Christina Rible, F, Delaware, Allison Trapp, G,Delaware, Michelle Maslowski, F, Drexel, Jen Derevjanik, G, George Mason, Shanna Price, F, James Madison, Sharron Francis, G/F, Old Dominion, Shareese Grant, G, Old Dominion, Kristine Austgulen, F, Virginia Commonwealth, Jen Sobota, G, William and Mary