There were no surprises when the votes were counted from the Northeast Conference women’s basketball coaches preseason poll.
Robert Morris was picked first for the fifth time in the past seven years. It was a unanimous vote.
RMU, which captured all 10 first-place votes, won its eighth NEC Tournament and seventh NEC regular-season titles last season and earned its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance. The Colonials (22-11, 16-2) finished 12th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 55.3 points per game.
Coach Charlie Buscaglia welcomes back nine letterwinners, representing 85.6% of the team’s scoring and 77.3% of its minutes from last season. The roster includes senior Nneka Ezeigbo and juniors Nina Augustin, Laura Carrasco, Holly Forbes, Honoka Ikematsu and Irekpitan Ozzy-Momodu.
St. Francis (Pa.) finished second in the poll, followed by Mount St. Mary’s and Sacred Heart (tied for third). Bryant and St. Francis Brooklyn (tied for fifth) and Wagner, Long Island, Fairleigh Dickinson, Central Connecticut and Merrimack.
