West Texas A&M was tabbed to win its second straight title in the 2022-23 Lone Star Conference women’s basketball preseason poll announced on Monday.
The preseason poll reflects the opinions of LSC head coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives throughout the region.
The Lady Buffs are the clear favorite, picking up 31 of 39 first-place votes and 612 total points in the preseason poll. WT enters 2022-23 off the back of a 26-11 season and the program's first appearance in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight since 2016. Last year, the Lady Buffs claimed the regular season and tournament titles in the LSC.
Lubbock Christian landed second with preseason voters, receiving four first-place votes and 557 points. The Lady Chaps narrowly missed out on a return to the Elite Eight to defend their 2021 national title, falling in the South Central championship game to WT. LCU was 28-7 overall last season and 12-4 in LSC competition.
Texas Woman's received four first-place votes and 538 points as the Pioneers are slated to finish third in the conference. TWU is coming off the most successful season in program history, which saw them advance to the South Central Regional semifinals for the first time. The NCAA tournament appearance was the third in team history and capped off a 20-9 season.
Angelo State placed fourth in the poll, garnering 519 points. The Rambelles were 15-13 overall and 12-4 against LSC competition, returning to the conference tournament for the 32nd time.
UT Tyler closed out the top five, collecting 479 points. The Patriots made their first appearance in the LSC tournament. They amassed a 19-9 overall record, marking one of the biggest turnarounds in the league in 2021-22.
Texas A&M-Kingsville finished sixth in the preseason poll with 408 points. The Javelinas made their first tournament appearance since 2019 last season, ending the campaign 17-11 overall and 10-6 against the rest of the league.
Closing out the top 10 in the preseason poll are Texas A&M International (371 points), Cameron (347 points), Midwestern State (314 points) and Eastern New Mexico (233 points).
TWU’s Ashley Ingram captured LSC Preseason Player of the Year honors, obtaining 14 of 39 votes.
Ingram was a standout freshman for the Pioneers in 2021-22, leading the program to the NCAA postseason for the first time since 2016. The sophomore forward posted averages of 14.5 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game to lead TWU in both categories. In conference matchups, Ingram averaged 17.4 ppg, ranking third in the LSC. The Bridgeport, Texas native also shot a league-topping 54.0 percent from the field in 13 LSC games. Ingram received first team all-conference honors and was named the LSC Freshman of the Year.
Additionally, 14 players were selected for the first LSC women’s basketball preseason players to watch list. The student-athletes were nominated by their member institution for recognition.
The 2022-23 LSC basketball schedule will feature 16 women's teams in two divisions. Each team will play a double round-robin schedule within their division. Additionally, teams will play eight crossover competitions against teams from the opposite division for a total of 22 conference games.
The LSC Basketball Championships will feature an eight-team field in 2023 with seeding based on the 22 conference games. The divisional winners will receive the top two seeds in the tournament. The championships are set to take place March 2-3-4-5, 2023, at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
| 2022-23 LSC Women's Basketball Preseason Poll |
| Rank |
School |
1st |
Total |
| 1 |
West Texas A&M |
31 |
612 |
| 2 |
Lubbock Christian |
4 |
557 |
| 3 |
Texas Woman's |
4 |
538 |
| 4 |
Angelo State |
|
519 |
| 5 |
UT Tyler |
|
479 |
| 6 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
|
408 |
| 7 |
Texas A&M International |
|
371 |
| 8 |
Cameron |
|
347 |
| 9 |
Midwestern State |
|
314 |
| 10 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
233 |
| 11 |
St. Edward's |
|
219 |
| 12 |
UAFS |
|
216 |
| 13 |
UT Permian Basin |
|
172 |
| 14 |
Oklahoma Christian |
|
154 |
| 15 |
St. Mary's |
|
94 |
| 16 |
Western New Mexico |
|
71 |
| 2022-23 LSC Women's Basketball Preseason Players to Watch |
| Name |
School |
Class |
Position |
Major |
Hometown |
| Sawyer Lloyd |
Angelo State |
SR |
G |
Exercise Science |
San Angelo, Texas/Wall HS |
| Katie King |
Cameron |
SO |
G |
Business Finance |
Harrah, Okla./Harrah HS |
| Edecia Beck |
Eastern New Mexico |
SR |
F |
University Studies |
Grand Rapids, Mich./Grand Rapids Christian |
| Grace Foster |
Lubbock Christian |
SO |
F |
Mgmt. Information Systems |
Childress, Texas/Childress HS |
| Brooklin Bain |
Oklahoma Christian |
JR |
G |
Biology |
Comanche, Okla./Comanche HS |
| Lauren Catherman |
St. Edward's |
JR |
G |
Kinesiology |
Lubbock, Texas/Monterey HS |
| Raiana Brown |
Texas A&M International |
JR |
F |
Multidisciplinary Studies |
Wheatley Heights, N.Y./North Babylon HS |
| Mia Rivers |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
SO |
G |
Kinesiology |
College Station, Texas/College Station HS |
| Ashley Ingram |
Texas Woman's |
SO |
F |
Kinesiology |
Bridgeport, Texas/Bridgeport HS |
| Aaliyah Prince |
UAFS |
SR |
G |
Criminal Justice |
San Antonio, Texas/Highlands HS |
| Holly Hemmeline |
UT Permian Basin |
JR |
G |
Psychology |
Denver City, Texas/Denver City HS |
| Lovisa Hevinder |
UT Tyler |
SO |
G |
Management |
Stockholm, Sweden/Lulea Basketgymnasium |
| Zamorye Roberts |
West Texas A&M |
SR |
G |
Health & Physical Education |
Portales, New Mexico/Portales HS |
| Brooke Rodgers |
Western New Mexico |
SO |
G |
English |
Phoenix, Ariz./Cactus Shadow HS |