Oct. 24, 2007

Bay City, Mich. - The Mercyhurst College women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) South Division according to the preseason media poll released Wednesday.

The poll was voted on by the members of the media and the GLIAC's Sports Information Directors. The 30-member group picked Grand Valley State to win the North Division and Gannon to win the South. Mercyhurst, which went 6-21 last year and 2-15 in the conference, received 35 votes to place last.

In the South Division, Gannon received 27 first-place votes, while Hillsdale received the other three and were picked second. Ashland was third, followed by Wayne State and Findlay.

First-year head coach Deanna Richard returns five players from last year's squad. Junior guard Stephanie Prischak started 26 games a year ago, averaging 9.8 points, handing out 69 assists, and shooting 89.6 percent from the free-throw line. Sophomore center Lindsay Whipkey had 9.1 points and 4.9 rebounds with a team-leading 27 blocked shots. Sophomore forward Mara Dreiser started 10 games and scored 4.8 points and 3.3 rebounds.

Two returners were limited by injuries a year ago. Sophomore guard Paris Pugliese played 11 games, averaging 5.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 21 minutes per game off the bench. Redshirt freshman Rachel Divosevic started the first four games of the season, averaging 14.3 points on 49 percent shooting, before an injury ended her season.

Richard also brought in eight newcomers, including three sophomore transfers. The team is made up of five freshmen, six sophomores, and two juniors.