Women's Basketball 10/10/2007 4:00:00 AM MEAC Media Relations

COPPIN STATE PICKED TO WIN CROWN; SUBER NAMED PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR

The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) announced its 2007-08 preseason all-conference teams and preseason predictions Tuesday at its annual Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon at the Sheraton Raleigh in Raleigh, N.C. Coppin State University guard Rashida Suber was named the preseason MEAC Player of the Year for the second year.

The Lady Eagles earned 12 first place votes and were picked to win their fourth straight regular-season title by the leagues head coaches and sports information directors.

Last season Coppin State went 18-0 in MEAC play for the second year in a row. Delaware State, the defending MEAC tournament champion, was predicted to finish second in this year’s poll, earning nine first place votes. North Carolina A&T, Morgan State and Hampton complete the preseason top five.

Suber, the 2007 MEAC Player of the Year, earned an All-MEAC first-team selection after averaging 18.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. The guard led the MEAC in 3-point field goals made (101) and was second in steals (98).

Joining Suber on the preseason All-MEAC first team are Delaware State teammates Raquel Collier and Katreem Palmer. Collier earned an All-MEAC first-team choice for the third straight year. She led her team in scoring (13.5 ppg) and was among the top fifteen in the MEAC in scoring and field three percentage (.681). Palmer was second on the team in scoring with 11.1 points per game and led the team in rebounding with 7.1 per game.

Howard’s Shannon Carlisle and North Carolina A&T’s Amber Bland round out the preseason first-team. Carlisle led the Lady Bison with 16 points per game and earned the 2007 MEAC Defensive Player of the Year honor. She ranked among the top three in the nation with 3.7 steals per game and was also among the top four in the MEAC with 3.4 assists per game. Bland led the conference and was 21st in the nation with 19.6 points per game.

The MEAC women’s basketball season tips off with seven of the 12 schools opening up on November 9. The Lady Hornets of Delaware State will begin their season on November 9 at Delaware in the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

For additional information about MEAC basketball, log on to www.MEACsports.com and www.MEAChoops.com

2007-08 MEAC Women’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
as voted on by the leagues Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors
(First place votes in parenthesis)

School Points
1. Coppin State (12) 442
2. Delaware State (9) 437
3. North Carolina A&T 356
4. Morgan State 298
5. Hampton 282
6. Florida A&M 236
7. Md. Eastern Shore 214
8. Howard (1) 183
9. South Carolina State 130
10. Norfolk State 54
11. Bethune-Cookman 52