Preseason Women's Basketbal Release (PDF)
Belmont has been picked to win the 2021-22 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball title in a preseason poll of the head coaches and communications directors. The Bruins earned 159 points and 15 first-place votes while Tennessee Tech earned 134 points and two first-place votes for a second-place predicted finish. Murray State picked up the final three first-place nods and 125 points to finish third while UT Martin (104) and Austin Peay (95) round out the top five. Southeast Missouri earned 91 points sixth-place predicted finish followed by Eastern Illinois (83), SIUE (44), Morehead State (43) and Tennessee State (23).
Belmont is coming off a season in which it went 21-6 overall and 14-3 in OVC to finish second. The Bruins earned the second seed in the OVC Tournament and defeated No. 1 UT Martin, 83-75, in the championship final. Belmont earned the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and defeated Gonzaga in the first round. The Bruins became the first OVC team in 31 years to win an NCAA Tournament game. Bark Brooks, enters his fifth season at the helm of the Bruins and will have a pair of All-OVC selections return from last season. The 2021-22 OVC Preseason Player of the Year sophomore guard Destinee Wells and senior forward Conley Chinn will be returning this season. Wells (Lakeland, Tenn.) was named the OVC Freshman of the Year after leading the league with 4.6 assist per game while ranking second with 17.8 point per outing. Chinn (Jackson, Miss.) finished last year ranking among league leaders with 12.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game to earn All-OVC First Team honors.
Tennessee Tech went 15-10 overall and 12-8 in the OVC to finish in a tie for fifth place. The Golden Eagles earned the fifth seed in the OVC Tournament and advance to the semifinals before falling to No. 1 UT Martin, 69-56. Kim Rosamond enters her sixth season as the head coach at Tennessee Tech and will have all five starters returning from a season ago. Guard/Forward Anna Jones (Jackson, Tenn.), guard Jordan Brock (Harlan, Ky.) and guard Kesha Brady (Smyrna, Tenn.) were each named to the 2021-22 Preseason All-OVC team after earning Second Team honors last year. Jones finished last season with 11.2 points and 6.2 rebounds per game while Brock posted 11.8 points per game and a 84.9 free throw percentage. Brady had 11.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per outing last year.
Murray State finished last year in a tie for fifth place after finishing with a 16-11 overall mark and a 12-8 league record. The Racers earned the No. 6 seed in the OVC Tournament and advanced to the semifinals before falling to No. 2 Belmont, 67-49. Head coach Rechelle Turner enters her fifth season at Murray State and will have a pair of All-OVC selections from last year returning in senior guard Macey Turley and sophomore forward Katelyn Young. Turley ( Murray, Ky.) finished last year ranking third in scoring with 17.6 points per game while leading the league with a 92.3 free throw percentage. Young (Oakwood, Ill.) recorded an OVC-leading 9.3 rebounds per game while also putting up 14.1 points each time out last year.
2020-21 All-OVC Preseason Women's Basketball Team
The 2021-22 Preseason All-OVC team is headlined by Belmont sophomore guard Destinee Wells who was named the Preseason Player of the Year
The preseason squad features student-athletes from five different teams. Tennessee Tech leads the way with four selections followed by Belmont with three. Murray State and Eastern Illinois each have two picks each while Austin Peay has one selection.
Wells was named the OVC Freshman of the Year and earned All-OVC First Team and All-Newcomer honors last season. The Lakeland, Tenn. natives is the league's top returning scorer after she finished second in the OVC with 17.8 points per game last year. She also led the league with 4.6 assists per outing while also recording a 46.6 field goal percentage last season.
Earning Preseason All-Conference team honors this year after being named to the All-OVC First Team last season are:
Murray State guard Macey Turley (17.6 ppg, 92.3 FT%) and forward Katelyn Young (14.1 ppg, 9.3 rpg); Austin Peay Yamia Johnson (14.9 ppg, 39.4 3PT FG%); Belmont forward Conley Chinn (12.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg); and Eastern Illinois forward/center Abby Wahl (14.5 ppg, 7.4 rpg).
Tennessee Tech guard/forward Anna JOnes (11.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg), guard Jordan Brock (11.8 ppg, 84.9 FT%) and guard Kesha Brady (11.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg); and Eastern Illinois guard Lariah Washington (14.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg) were all named to the Preseason All-OVC team after earning All-Conference Second team honors a year ago.
Belmont guard Tuti Jones (9.4 ppg, 4.6 rpg) and Tennessee Tech forward Mackenzie Coleman (10.3 ppg, 5.6 rpg) round out the preseason squad.