Long Beach State University Athletics
Benton Named Preseason All-Big West, Beach Picked Fifth
10/27/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
IRVINE, Calif. - The Long Beach State women's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the 2015-16 Big West Preseason Poll as voted on by a panel of media members the conference office announced Tuesday.
The media panel also selected a six-player preseason all-conference team that included LBSU junior guard Raven Benton.
Hawai'i was predicted to repeat as the Big West regular season champion after collecting 13 first-place votes and 147 total points. UC Riverside received two first-place nods to take second with 127 points, while Cal Poly was third with 107 points (one first-place vote).
Despite claiming the final first-place vote, the Beach finished one point behind two-time defending Big West Tournament champion CSUN as the Matadors were fourth (100) and LBSU was fifth (99).
UC Davis led the bottom half of the poll in sixth with 75 points, and was followed by Cal State Fullerton (46), UC Irvine (38) and UC Santa Barbara (26).
Benton was one of two juniors on the six-player preseason all-conference team. Last year, the 5-foot-10 guard led Long Beach State with 11.5 points per contest and ranked second on the squad with 5.0 rebounds per outing. Despite missing the final five games of the regular season with an injury, Benton earned second-team All-Big West honors in 2014-15.
The Beach returns seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 22-10 and earned an at-large berth to the WNIT. In addition to Benton, LBSU welcomes back sixth-year senior Chantel Dooley, juniors Anna Kim, Madison Montgomery and Jewelyn Sawyer, and sophomores Jessica Gertz and Cecily Wilson. Sophomore Gigi Hascheff is also coming off a redshirt season, while Aaryon Green, Chanterria Jackson, Martina McCowan and Katie Webster are in their first year at Long Beach State.
The Beach officially opens the season on Friday, Nov. 13, when it welcomes San Diego State to the Walter Pyramid for a 7 p.m. showdown.
2015-16 Big West Women's Basketball
Preseason Media Poll
1. Hawai'i (13) - 147
2. UC Riverside (2) - 127
3. Cal Poly (1) - 107
4. CSUN - 100
5. Long Beach State (1) - 99
6. UC Davis - 75
7. Cal State Fullerton - 46
8. UC Irvine - 38
9. UC Santa Barbara - 26
Preseason Media All-Conference Team
Raven Benton (Long Beach State), Jr., Guard
Alyson Doherty (UC Davis), Sr., Forward
Mokun Fajemisin (UC Irvine), Jr., Forward
Brittany Crain (UC Riverside), Sr., Guard
Annelise Ito (UC Riverside), Sr., Forward
Ashleigh Karaitiana (Hawai'i), Sr., Guard
