Leah McDonell returns for her senior season after averaging a career-best 9.5 points per game as a junior

Women's Basketball 10/26/2016 1:20:00 PM Mike Miranto, Associate A.D. For Communications

Women's Basketball Picked Ninth In ECC Preseason Poll

2016-17 ECC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
Rank	School	Pts.	2015-16 Record
1	Queens (10)	100	21-9, 15-5 ECC
2	NYIT	83	26-9, 18-2 ECC
3	Roberts Wesleyan	72	29-7, 14-6 ECC
4	St. Thomas Aquinas	63	18-11, 11-9 ECC
5	Bridgeport	52	10-18, 8-12 ECC
6	LIU Post	50	5-23, 5-15 ECC
7	Molloy	45	12-17, 11-9 ECC
8	District of Columbia	43	21-9, 15-5 ECC
9	DAEMEN	31	9-17, 7-13 ECC
10	Mercy	11	6-22, 3-17 ECC
( ) - first place votes

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College women's basketball team has been picked to finish ninth in the East Coast Conference this season according to the ECC preseason poll which was released today from conference headquarters in Central Islip, N.Y. following a vote of the league's 10 head coaches.

Daemen earned 31 points in the poll after going 9-17 overall and 7-13 in the league last season. The Wildcats' seven league wins put them alone in eighth place in the final league standings last season, four games out of conference tournament contention. A stretch of five wins in six games last February kept Daemen in the postseason discussion until suffering three straight defeats to close the season.

The 2016-17 season marks the Wildcats' first under new head coach Jenepher Banker who was appointed to the position last April. Daemen returns eight players including three of their top four scorers. The group is headlined by 2015-16 first-team All-ECC pick Sarah Saba (Lancaster, N.Y./Lancaster). Saba, a 6-foot junior guard, ranked fourth in the league by averaging 16.6 points per game. She also led the team in rebounding (6.3 rpg), steals (36) and blocks (44). With 112 made free throws, she became the first Daemen player to post back-to-back seasons of 100 or more since Sarah Soroka (East Aurora, N.Y./East Aurora) in 2009-10 and 2010-11.

Also back are seniors Leah McDonell (North Tonawanda, N.Y./Cardinal O'Hara) and Natalie Galus (Hamburg, N.Y./Hamburg). McDonell, a 5-foot-6 guard, has started all 81 games over the last three seasons, and averaged a career-best 9.5 points per game last year. Galus, a 5-foot-11 forward, has made 81 appearances and 80 starts in her career. She averaged 8.0 points per game and finished second on the team in three-point field goals (35) last season.

Queens College (100 points) topped the poll as the unanimous pick to win their third straight league championship. The Knights went 21-9 overall and advanced to the semifinal round of the NCAA Division II East Regional before bowing out to eventual national semifinalist Bentley University. Queens returns seven players from their 2015-16 squad, including senior guard/forward Madison Rowland (Albany, N.Y.) who was announced as the ECC Preseason Player of the Year today. Rowland was a first-team All-ECC performer last season after leading the league in scoring (20.8 ppg) and steals (109). The Knights open the season ranked No. 14 in the Division II Bulletin Preseason Top 25 poll.

N.Y. Institute of Technology (83 points), the defending ECC regular season champs, were picked second. The Bears graduated 2015-16 ECC Player of the Year Dina Ragab (Cairo, Egypt), but return three double-figure scorers, including second-team All-ECC pick Shannon Duer (Islip, N.Y.) who averaged a double-double (10.8 ppg, 11.0 rpg).

Roberts Wesleyan College (72 points), St. Thomas Aquinas College (63 points), University of Bridgeport (52 points) and Long Island University Post (50 points) round out the team's picked to earn conference tournament berths by finishing in the league's top six. Roberts Wesleyan advanced to the ECC Tournament finals last season after bouncing top-seeded NYIT in the semis. St. Thomas Aquinas is coming off the program's second straight conference tournament berth. Bridgeport will be seeking their first conference tourney bid since 2013, while LIU Post is also looking for a return to postseason play after missing the conference tournament for the first time since 2005.

Molloy College (45 points) and the University of the District of Columbia (43 points), both ECC Tournament qualifiers last season, come in ahead of Daemen at seventh and eighth, respectively, in the poll. UDC recently made a splash by naming former University of Maryland star and seven-year NBA veteran Juan Dixon as their new head coach.

Mercy College (11 points) rounded out the poll at No. 10.

Daemen opens its 2016-17 season with an exhibition contest down Main Street at Division I Canisius College on November 9. The Wildcats get the regular season tipped off on November 11 vs. Felician College at the ECC-CACC Challenge hosted by Roberts Wesleyan. ECC play gets underway on November 30 when the Wildcats visit LIU Post. Daemen does not make its home debut until December 14 (vs. NYIT), playing its first eight games of the year away from the friendly confines of Lumsden Gymnasium.

For breaking news and continuing coverage of the Daemen women's basketball team, follow @DaemenAthletics and @DaemenWBB on Twitter.

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Players Mentioned

#33 Natalie Galus: F; 5' 11"; Senior

#25 Leah McDonell: G; 5' 6"; Senior

#11 Sarah Saba: G; 6' 0"; Junior

Players Mentioned

#33 Natalie Galus
: 5' 11"; Senior
: F

#25 Leah McDonell
: 5' 6"; Senior
: G

#11 Sarah Saba
: 6' 0"; Junior
: G

Players Mentioned

#33 Natalie Galus

#25 Leah McDonell

#11 Sarah Saba

Players Mentioned

#33 Natalie Galus

#25 Leah McDonell

#11 Sarah Saba