ST. LOUIS, Mo. – Columbia (Mo.) and Lyon (Ark.) are women’s basketball preseason favorites, the league announced on Friday. The AMC Coaches’ Poll is voted on by the 10 conference coaches.
Columbia received 76 points and five first-place votes. The Cougars finished last season with a 25-7 record and 20-4 in conference play. Columbia returns Geena Stephens, a 6-foot Sr. forward, who averaged 6.8 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game and 3.6 rebounds per game and was named to the AMC All-Defensive Team. 2019 AMC All-Freshman selection, Mackenzie Dubbert returns after scoring 6.0 points per game and shooting 44-percent from behind the 3-point line.
Lyon also received 76 points and five first-place votes after a year that saw them go 29-3 overall and 23-1 in AMC play, before losing in the AMC Women’s Basketball title game. The Scots return Katie Turner, who scored 11.1 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game. 2019 AMC Newcomer of the Year, Jade Giron returns after a 2019 campaign saw her score 10.9 points per game , 4.7 rebounds per game and dished out 130 assists.
The Lady Eagles are picked third with 58 points. Williams Baptist went 19-11 last season and 15-9 in AMC play, before bowing out in the AMC Women’s Basketball Quarterfinals. The Lady Eagles return their top two scorers from a year ago, including NAIA All-American Honorable Mention and leading scorer, Taylor Freeman, who poured in 13.3 points per game and shot 43.4-percent from the field. Tasia Bland, second on the team in scoring, averaged 12.8 points per game and a team-best 6.8 rebounds per game in the 2019-20 season.
Picked fourth with 56 points is the Missouri Baptist Spartans. The Spartans return a pair of players who made the AMC All-Conference Team. Tionne Taylor, All-AMC Third-Team, averaged 15.4 points per game, 2.9 rebounds per game, 2.3 steals per game and 1.9 assists per game. Alexis Allstun returns after scoring 10.3 points per game and 7.7 rebounds per game. Allstun was named to the All-AMC Honorable-Mention and AMC All-Freshman Team.
The Owls of William Woods are picked fifth by the coaches after receiving 54 points. The Owls see a pair of key returnees; Kasey Hazell and Tori Nesslage. Hazell averaged 7.6 points per game and brought down five rebounds per game and had 21 steals, while Nesslage appeared in 30 games scoring 3.2 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game.
Central Baptist sees a trio of key returners, which landed them sixth in the poll with 45 points. Top scorer Grace Coates is back after she scored 12.4 points per game and was named to the All-AMC Honorable Mention team. Senior and 2020 All-AMC Third-Team selection is back, as she scored 12.1 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game last season. Allen is 100 points away from becoming the program’s all-time leading scorer.
Picked seventh with 30 points is University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy. The Eutectics see AMC Freshman of the Year, Grace Beyer, return after a strong first season. Beyer lead the team in points per game (17.5), rebounds per game (4.6) and assists with 94. Beyer recorded one of the two triple doubles in the AMC last season. Also returning is Michon Forrest, who was second on the team last year with a 11.2 points per game average.
Coming in eighth with 29 points is Harris-Stowe (Mo.). The Hornets return a pair of key players from last season; Takesia Barnes and Surina Finnie. Barnes was named to the All-AMC Honorable Mention team, finishing second on the team in points per game (9.8) and leading the team in rebounds per game (6.6). Finnie scored 9.8 points per game last season and brought down 3.0 rebounds per game.
Finishing in a tie for ninth with 13 points are the Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) Trojans and Stephens (Mo.) Stars.
The Trojans finished 5-24 last season and 3-21 in conference play.
Stephens went 6-24 a year ago. Ida Pieschl is a key returner for the Stars. She scored 16 points in 23 minutes last year, before suffering a season-ending injury. Cedreanna Lee and Madelyne Denslow look to improve on a season that saw them score 8.2 points per game and 7.7 points per game, respectively.
AMC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Rank |
School |
Points (First-Place Votes) |
| T1 |
Columbia |
76 (5) |
| T1 |
Lyon |
76 (5) |
| 3 |
Williams Baptist |
58 |
| 4 |
Missouri Baptist |
56 |
| 5 |
William Woods |
54 |
| 6 |
Central Baptist |
45 |
| 7 |
Health Sciences & Pharmacy |
30 |
| 8 |
Harris-Stowe |
29 |
| T9 |
Hannibal-LaGrange |
13 |
| T9 |
Stephens |
13 |