Women's Basketball | 10/18/2016 11:05:00 AM
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Georgia Southern women's basketball student-athletes
Angel McGowan and
Patrice Butler have earned Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference honors as voted on by the league's coaches. The Sun Belt released the three preseason all-conference teams as well as the 2016-17 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll Tuesday morning.
McGowan, a senior guard from Greenville, S.C., earned first team honors and Butler, a senior forward/center from Norcross, Ga., was named to the third team.
A 2015-16 Sun Belt All-Conference Second-Team honoree, McGowan started 26 of the 28 games she appeared in last season – including all 20 of the Eagles' Sun Belt Conference games –while averaging 31.7 minutes per game, 32.3 minutes per conference contest. She shot 39.6% (142-359) from the field a season ago with that percentage going up to 40.1% in league games. She also hit on 30.9% (56-181) of her looks from three-point range last year.
McGowan led the team and was seventh in the conference last season with 14.7 points per game and added 2.3 assists, 4.5 rebounds and a team-best 2.1 steals per contest. In conference contests, she averaged 15.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 2.2 assists per game. She scored 20+ points in eight games last year, including seven conference matchups, bringing her total up to 12 games with 20 or more points for her career.
McGowan is the 22
nd Eagle to hit the 1,000 point mark in her career, scoring her 1,000
th career point in the Eagles' final game of the 2015-16 season. She is also currently 14
th all-time in school history with 150 career steals after swiping 60 last season. McGowan has led the team in steals each of the last three years and is the first player in program history to do so. She was named the Sun Belt Conference Student-Athlete of the Week by both the conference office and College Sports Madness on Dec. 8, 2015.
Last season, Butler developed into a true dual scoring threat for the Eagles as she was able to score both under the basket as well as from outside the three point arc. She was second on the team in scoring with 12.6 points per game and scored her 800
th career collegiate point. Butler ended the 2015-16 season in the midst of a stretch of nine games where she scored in double figures dating back to Feb. 6 against Texas State. She scored in double figures in 20 games last season.
During the 2015-16 campaign, Butler led the team with a 45.2% (141-312) shooting performance from the field while also shooting 36.6% (26-71) from beyond the arc. For her career at Georgia Southern, Butler enters her senior year shooting 46.7% from the field and 36.8% from three-point range. Under the basket, Butler was tied for tops on the team and 16
th in the conference with 5.3 rebounds per game (154 total) last year. She recorded two double-doubles at Savannah State (12/2/16) and at Appalachian State (1/25/16), both wins for the Eagles. Butler was named to the Sun Belt Academic Commissioner's List in both of the last two years.
Despite returning all five starters from last season as well as four other letterwinners, the Eagles were picked 10
th in the preseason coaches' poll ahead of league newcomer Coastal Carolina and UL Monroe. Troy was picked first, garnering three first-place votes, with Little Rock second and UT Arlington third. Little Rock earned five first-place votes while the Mavericks were awarded three. South Alabama and Louisiana rounded out the top-five. Texas State, Arkansas State, Appalachian State and Georgia State rounded out the poll in sixth through ninth, respectively.
Georgia Southern still tip off the 2016-17 season with a home exhibition game against Coastal Georgia on Tuesday, Nov. 1. The Eagles' regular-season will then officially begin with a pair of home games on Friday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 13. The Eagles will tip off the season against North Carolina A&T and then turn their attention to the Night Hawks of Thomas University.
Season tickets, which are good for both men's and women's home games, start as low as $90, and fans can save over $200 by purchasing season tickets. Tickets can be ordered by calling 1 (800) GSU-WINS, at GSEagles.com/tickets or by visiting the ticket office.
Georgia Southern will hold a Hoops Fan Fest Oct. 26, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in Hanner Fieldhouse. Fans will have the chance to meet student-athletes and coaches from the men's and women's basketball teams. Admission and parking is free, the first 200 fans in attendance will receive free T-shirts and concessions will be open with popcorn and drinks available for purchase.
2016-17 Sun Belt Conference Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Poll
first-place votes in parentheses
1. Troy (3) - 125 pts
2. Little Rock (5) - 121 pts
3. UT Arlington (3) - 118 pts
4. South Alabama - 109 pts
5. UL Lafayette - 101 pts
6. Texas State - 81 pts
7. Arkansas State - 80 pts
8. Appalachian State (1) - 64 pts
9. Georgia State - 52 pts
10. Georgia Southern - 39 pts
11. Coastal Carolina - 26 pts
12. UL Monroe - 20 pts
Preseason Player of the Year
Rebekah VanDijk (UT Arlington, Junior, Center)
Preseason First Team All-Conference
Kaitlyn Pratt (Little Rock, Senior, Forward)
Angel McGowan (Georgia Southern, Senior, Guard)
Marquita Daniels (South Alabama, Junior, Guard)
Rebekah VanDijk (UT Arlington, Junior, Center)
Caitlyn Ramirez (Troy, Senior, Forward)
Preseason Second Team All-Conference
Madi Story (Appalachian State, Junior, Guard)
Sharde' Collins (Little Rock, Senior, Guard)
Makeba Ponder (Georgia State, Junior, Guard)
Chyna Ellis (South Alabama, Junior, Center)
Cierra Johnson (UT Arlington, Junior, Guard)
Preseason Third Team All-Conference
Patrice Butler (Georgia Southern, Senior, Center)
Simone Fields (UL Lafayette, Junior, Forward)
Erin Peoples (Texas State, Senior, Guard)
Kaitlin Walla (Texas State, Junior, Guard)
ArJae' Saunders (Troy, Senior, Guard)
Georgia Southern Athletics provides up-to-date information on all its sports through its official website, GSEagles.com, through social media channels facebook.com/GSAthletics, twitter.com/GSAthletics, iOS app Georgia Southern Eagles and Android app Eagles GATA. Fans can purchase tickets to Georgia Southern Athletics events by visiting GSEagles.com/Tickets.
