Above photo courtesy of the American Southwest Conference
RICHARDSON, Texas- On Wednesday morning, the ASC released its Preseason Women’s Basketball Poll, and UMHB, the reigning conference tournament champion, was picked to finish fourth.
The Crusaders, coming off a season in which they went 13-8 and defeated ETBU in the ASC Championship game, tallied 174 points and one first-place vote. The poll was voted upon by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
ETBU took the top spot in the poll, as the Tigers, who posted a 15-0 record in conference play, begin the year ranked No. 2 by D3hoops.com. UT-Dallas was selected to finish No. 2, and Hardin-Simmons No. 3.
ASC Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll (Per ascsports.org)
| No. | Team (First-place votes) | Pts. | 2020-21 Record (ASC) |
| 1. | East Texas Baptist (17) | 233 | 25-1 (15-0) |
| 2. | UT Dallas (3) | 207 | 14-3 (9-2) |
| 3. | Hardin-Simmons (1) | 206 | 16-5 (11-3) |
| 4. | Mary Hardin-Baylor (1) | 174 | 13-8 (7-7) |
| 5. | LeTourneau | 143 | 12-6 (8-4) |
| 6. | Sul Ross State | 121 | 10-14 (7-5) |
| 7. | Howard Payne | 117 | 10-7 (6-3) |
| 8. | Concordia Texas | 92 | 2-8 (2-8) |
| 9. | Belhaven | 67 | 6-12 (3-9) |
| 10. | McMurry | 54 | 2-16 (2-12) |
| 11. | Ozarks | 35 | 1-14 (1-14) |
Additionally, the conference released its Preseason Watch List, which featured three UMHB standouts.
Ashley Faux, a sophomore forward, enters her second season in Belton after averaging 4.8 points per game last year. The Frisco, Texas native was also an ASC West Division All-Freshman Team Selection in 2020-21, adding 1.9 rebounds per game.
Kaitlyn Kollmorgen, also a sophomore, was selected to the Watch List after finishing her freshman season strong, scoring a season-high 15 points in UMHB’s ASC Tournament semifinal win over Hardin-Simmons. She averaged 3.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last year, and was named to the ASC’s West Division All-Freshman team.
Olivia Champion was the third Crusader to earn a spot on the Watch List. The junior guard played in all 21 games a year ago, with 6.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per contest.
UMHB opens its season in Belton on Nov. 6, with an 8 p.m. CT contest against Rhodes.
