SACRAMENTO — With a little less than three weeks remaining until the Sacramento State women’s basketball team officially takes the court for its 2022-23 regular season opener, the Hornets have already grabbed the attention of Big Sky Conference coaches and media members, picked to finish fifth among the 10-team league according to a preseason vote of both entities released on Wednesday morning.
The fifth-place prediction is the highest that the Hornets have been picked since the 2015-16 squad was predicted to finish third by both the coaches and media a season after winning 18 games overall, finishing 13-5 in the Big Sky, and advancing to the third round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.
Sacramento State received 46 points from the coaches to place fifth, 14 points back of Northern Arizona in fourth and nine points ahead of sixth-place Eastern Washington. According to the media, the Hornets picked up 146 points and one first-place vote, placing 41 points back of Idaho in fourth and 14 points ahead of Idaho State in sixth in that particular poll.
The top four teams in each poll are the same, just in a slightly different order. Reigning conference tournament champion Montana State was picked atop both polls, receiving nine first-place votes and 81 points overall from the coaches, and 24 first-place votes and 257 points overall from the media to outpace in-state rival Montana, which was second in both polls with 65 and 204 points, respectively, including a first-place vote from the media.
In the coaches poll, the Vandals were selected third, picking up the final first-place vote and 62 points, while finishing fourth in the media poll. They flip-flopped places with the Lumberjacks, who were selected fourth by the coaches and third by the media.
Eastern Washington, Weber State (31 points), Idaho State (30), Northern Colorado (28), and Portland State (10), round out the coaches’ selections, while the Bengals (132), the Bears (102), the Eagles (98), the Wildcats (87), and the Vikings (28), were picked to finish in that order by the members of the media.
Last season, Sacramento State finished 14-16 overall and 10-10 in league play, ending the year in seventh place in the Big Sky standings. In addition to the four returning letter winners from that squad, second-year head coach Mark Campbell has restocked the Hornets’ roster with four Division I transfers and a quartet of incoming freshmen looking to build off of one of the biggest turnarounds in women’s college basketball last season.
The season tips-off on Saturday (Nov. 12) at 1 p.m. at The Nest on campus against UC Irvine, which finished second in the Big West Conference during the regular season, reached the conference tournament championship game, and earned a WNIT berth a season ago.
Season ticket packages are available starting as low as $75, while single-game tickets are also on sale. More information can be found at HornetSports.com or by calling the athletics ticket office at (916) 278-2222.
BIG SKY CONFERENCE PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Montana State – 81 Points (9 First Place Votes)
2. Montana – 65 Points
3. Idaho – 62 Points (1 First Place Vote)
4. Northern Arizona – 60 Points
5. Sacramento State – 46 Points
6. Eastern Washington – 37 Points
7. Weber State – 31 Points
8. Idaho State – 30 Points
9. Northern Colorado – 28 Points
10. Portland State – 10 Points
BIG SKY CONFERENCE PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
1. Montana State – 257 Points (24 First Place Votes)
2. Montana – 204 Points (1 First Place Vote)
3. Northern Arizona – 189 Points
4. Idaho – 187 Points
5. Sacramento State – 146 Points (1 First Place Vote)
6. Idaho State – 132 Points
7. Northern Colorado – 102 Points
8. Eastern Washington – 98 Points
9. Weber State – 87 Points
10. Portland State – 28 Points
