Bulls Picked Atop MAC East Division, Loesing & Sharkey Receive Preseason Honors
10/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
BUFFALO, NY – The State University of New York, Buffalo women's basketball team has been picked to win the Mid-American Conference East Division the league announced Wednesday morning. The MAC released its women's basketball preseason poll and teams, featuring junior Mackenzie Loesing and senior Kristen Sharkey being named to the preseason All-MAC East Team. The Bulls also received one vote to win the MAC Tournament.
Loesing posted a team-best 16.3 points per game in 2013-14, good for sixth-most in the MAC to earn second-team All-MAC accolades. She also ranked fourth in the conference with 2.0 steals per game, while becoming the first sophomore in program history to reach 800 career points. Loesing registered game-best numbers of 30 points at Akron, 10 rebounds against Cornell and twice swiped away five steals.
A third-team All-MAC honoree, Sharkey was the only Bull to start every game a season ago. She ranked second on the squad with 14.7 points per contest and led UB with 8.7 boards per game. Sharkey tallied 11 double-doubles, highlighted by a 36-point, 10-rebound performance at Ball State. Her point total ranks tied for the third-most single-game points in the program history.
The UB duo is joined by Akron's Sina King, Bowling Green's Erica Donovan and Ohio's Kiyanna Black on the All-East team.
The Bulls earned their highest-ever seed in the MAC Tournament last season. Head coach Felisha Legette-Jack led the Bulls to a 2013-14 record of 17-13 overall and 10-8 in the MAC, the program's finest showing in over 10 years. UB's offensive output, that improved 7.3 points per game from 2012-13 to 2013-14, returns 77.5 percent of its offensive.
Graduating just one starter, sophomore Alexus Malone and senior Christa Baccas also return to the court for the Bulls, as does redshirt-sophomore Rachael Gregory. A primary starter as a freshman, Gregory is coming off a medial redshirt season in 2013-14.
UB tips off the regular season on Friday, Nov. 14 hosting Siena at 5 pm. The Bulls will face Buffalo State in an exhibition game at Alumni Arena Saturday, Nov. 8 at 2 pm.
2014-15 MAC East Predicted Order of Finish
Buffalo (8 First-Place Votes)
Bowling Green (3)
Akron
Ohio (1)
Miami
Kent State
2014-15 MAC West Predicted Order of Finish
Central Michigan (11)
Ball State (1)
Western Michigan
Toledo
Eastern Michigan
Northern Illinois
2015 MAC Tournament Predicted Champion
Central Michigan (10)
Ball State & Buffalo (1)
Preseason All-MAC East Team
Sina King, Akron
Erica Donovan, Bowling Green
Mackenzie Loesing, Buffalo
Kristen Sharkey, Buffalo
Kiyanna Black, Ohio
Preseason All-MAC West Team
Nathalie Fontaine, Ball State
Crystal Bradford, Central Michigan
Cha Sweeney, Eastern Michigan
Inma Zanoguera, Toledo
Miracle Woods, Western Michigan
