Women’s Basketball Picked Tenth in GAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll
RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – The Great American Conference released it's 2023-24 women's basketball preseason coaches' poll on Thursday, and East Central University was picked to finished tenth. Southern Nazarene received seven first-place votes from the league's head coaches to edge out Harding as the preseason favorite.
"We are looking forward to the start of our season," Head Coach Heather Hurt said. "Our group of girls give tremendous effort daily and we are excited to see what we can do this season."
Last season, the Tigers posted an 11-16 overall record and an 8-14 mark in conference action after Head Coach Heather Hurt took charge of the program mid-season. Under her leadership, the Tigers worked hard to claim the No. 7 seed at the GAC Championships and had three players receive All-GAC recognition.
ECU returns six athletes from last years squad while welcoming seven new faces that will make up the 2023-24 roster.
Some key returners include
Mackenzie Crusoe,
Kate Ogle, and
Kennedy Cummings.
Crusoe earned All-GAC Second Team honors for the third consecutive season, leading the Tigers with 6.3 rebounds, 13.4 points, and 33.9 minutes per game while adding 81 assists, 35 steals, and 10 blocks. She is only 56 points away from becoming the 15
th member of the ECU 1,000-point club.
Fifth-year forward Ogle enters her third year with the Tigers as a seasoned player. After battling back from an injury, Ogle finished the 2022-23 season leading the team with a .795 free-throw percentage and 23 total blocks in the 25 games she played.
Cummings saw action in all 27 games last year and contributed greatly to the team with her hustle. She averaged 24.2 minutes per game while having the second highest stats on the team in total rebounds (101) and assists (59).
The East Central University women's basketball team will open the new season on Tuesday, Nov. 14 at the Kerr Activities Center with a non-conference matchup against Ecclesia College at 5:30 pm.
