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2013-14 OVC Basketball Media Guide
In a preseason poll of the league's head coaches and sports information directors, Tennessee Tech has been picked to win the East Division while UT Martin was selected to take the West Division in the 2013-14 Ohio Valley Conference women's basketball race. The Golden Eagles earned 119 points and 12 first place votes while the Skyhawks picked up 22 first-place votes and 132 points.
Belmont is selected to finish second in the East Division after earning 115 points and nine first-place votes. Eastern Kentucky picked up the remaining three first-place nods and 95 points for a predicted third-place finish. Morehead State is picked to finish fourth with 66 points followed by Tennessee State with 65 and Jacksonville State with 32.
In the West Division, SIUE picked up the remaining two first-place votes and 103 points to be picked to finish second. Eastern Illinois earned 85 points for a third-place predicted finish. Rounding out the West Division are Murray State (68), Southeast Missouri (61) and Austin Peay (42).
Tennessee Tech won its 18th regular-season title last season after going 19-12 overall and 12-4 in the OVC. The Golden Eagles made it third straight trip to the championship game of the league tournament where it lost to UT Martin, 87-80, in overtime. Head coach Jim Davis will enter his second year at the helm of the Tech program. He has now coached two years in the OVC once while at Middle Tennessee (1986-87) and last season with Tennessee Tech. Davis led both teams to a regular-season title and the championship game of the OVC Tournament. He will have three starters among seven letter winners returning from last year's squad. Among the top returnees are junior guard Diamond Henderson and senior forward Molly Heady. Henderson, a native of Kennesaw, Ga., is the team's top returning scorer as she put up 15.8 points per game last season. A product of Monterey, Tenn., Heady led the team with a 40.9 three-point field goal percentage last season. She also averaged 6.7 points and 4.5 rebounds over 31 games in 2012-13. Henderson and Heady both earned preseason All-OVC honors.
UT Martin won its third straight OVC Tournament crown last year after finishing the regular-season with a 19-15 overall mark and a 11-5 OVC record. The Skyhawks defeated Tennessee Tech, 87-80, in overtime to earn its third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. UT Martin would fall to Notre Dame in the first round. Kevin McMillan enters his fifth season as the head coach of the Skyhawks and will have the top two scorers in the OVC back on the court this year in senior guards Jasmine Newsome and Heather Butler. Newsome, who was named the 2013-14 Preseason Player of the Year, finished the season with a league leading 22.6 points per game and 3.0 steals per outing. The Millington, Tenn., native earned both OVC Player and Defensive Player of the Year honors last season, marking the first time in league history a player has won both awards in the same season. Butler, a product of Medina, Tenn., was second in the league with 22.4 points per game and 3.1 three-point field goals made per outing. Newsome and Butler combined for 1532 of the Skyhawk's total 2482 points last season.
The 2013-14 campaign kicks off with a pair of exhibition games on Nov. 1 as Morehead State hosts Kentucky Christian and Tennessee State welcomes Tennessee Temple. The regular-season begins on Nov. 8 with Conference play starting on Dec. 28.
2013-14 All-OVC Preseason Women's Basketball Team
The 2013-14 Preseason All-OVC team is headlined by UT Martin senior guard Jasmine Newsome who was selected as the Preseason Player of the Year after being tabbed the OVC Player and Defensive Player of the Year last season.
The preseason All-OVC squad features players from seven different teams. UT Martin, Tennessee Tech and Morehead State each have a pair of selections while Eastern Kentucky, Belmont, Southeast Missouri and SIUE have one pick each. Three members were selected to the All-OVC first team last year while one was a second team selection and one was an All-Newcomer pick.
Newsome was named the OVC Player and Defensive Player of the Year last season, marking the first time in league history a player has won both awards in the same year. It was her second straight Player of the Year honor and second overall Defensive Player of the Year award. She led the league with 22.6 points and 3.0 steals per game in 2012-13. The Millington, Tenn., native was also named the OVC Tournament MVP as she set a new tournament record with 98 points over three games.
In addition to Newsome, UT Martin's Heather Butler (22.5 ppg; 3.1 3-PT field goals per game), Tennessee Tech's Diamond Henderson (15.8 ppg, 47.8 FG%) and Morehead State's Terrice Robinson (17.5 ppg, 82.1 FT%) and were All-OVC picks last year and earned spots on the Preseason All-Conference team this year.
Rounding out the preseason squad are Morehead State's Almesha Jones (11.1 ppg, 35.9 FG%); Eastern Kentucky's Marie Carpenter (14.1 ppg, 90.0 FT%); SIUE's Tierny Austin (11.4 ppg, 6.6 rpg); Belmont's Jordyn Luffman (8.9 ppg, 7.2 rpg); Southeast Missouri's Kara Wright (8.5 ppg, 45.5 FG%); and Tennessee Tech's Molly Heady (6.7 ppg; 40.9 3-PT FG%)
2013-14 OVC Women’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
(Selected by OVC Head Basketball Coaches and Sports Information Directors)
EAST
1. Tennessee Tech (12 first-place votes) - 119
2. Belmont (Nine first-place votes) - 115
3. Eastern Kentucky (Three first-place votes) - 95
4. Morehead State - 66
5. Tennessee State - 65
6. Jacksonville State- 32
WEST
1. UT Martin (22 first-place votes) - 132
2. SIUE (Two first-place votes) - 103
3. Eastern Illinois - 85
4. Murray State - 68
5. Southeast Missouri - 61
6. Austin Peay - 42
(*Schools were not allowed to rank their own team. 6 points awarded for a first-place vote, five for second, etc.)
2013-14 Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Women’s Basketball Team
(Selected by OVC Head Basketball Coaches and Sports Information Directors)
Preseason OVC Player of the Year: Jasmine Newsome, UT Martin
Jasmine Newsome, UT Martin *
Heather Butler, UT Martin*
Diamond Henderson, Tennessee Tech*
Terrice Robinson, Morehead State#
Marie Carpenter, Eastern Kentucky
Tierny Austin, SIUE
Almesha Jones, Morehead State
Jordyn Luffman, Belmont
Kara Wright, Southeast Missouri%
Molly Heady, Tennessee Tech
* - 1st team All-OVC in 2012-13
# - 2nd team All-OVC in 2012-13
% - OVC All-Newcomer team in 2012-13