The Lone Star Conference released its 2023 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll, listing the St. Edward's women's basketball team seventh in the conference rankings with 379 points. Angelo State was voted first in a close vote in which 46 points separated the top four teams.
St. Edward's is coming off a 14-17 season with a 10-12 conference record, earning a spot in the LSC Tournament. The Hilltoppers return starters
RONNIE CANTU,
LAUREN CATHERMAN, and
JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER, who was selected as one of the LSC Players to Watch.
Ruffus-Milner is one of two All-LSC Honorable Mention returners alongside Catherman. Ruffus-Milner averaged 11.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game in her first season at the Hilltop last year.
Voters selected Lubbock Christian's Grace Foster and Angelo State's Sawyer Lloyd as LSC 2023-24 Co-Preseason Players of the Year.
LSC women's basketball teams open their 2023-24 schedules in tournament or single-game play during early November weekends. Nine teams start seasons at D2CCA or Canadian Tipoff Classics beginning November 3, St. Edward's and two other LSC teams play in South Central Region Challenges on November 10, and another hosts a tournament on November 10. The new season for the three remaining LSC women's teams starts with single games in one of the two weekends.
The 42nd Lone Star Conference women's basketball championship tournament is scheduled for March 7-10, 2024, played at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The eight-team bracket includes the East and West Division winners, who automatically receive berths, with the remaining qualifying teams and all seeds based on results versus all LSC teams. The Division II Women's Basketball Championship starts with regionals March 15-19 and the Elite Eight March 25-29 in St. Joseph, Mo.
LSC Women's Basketball 2023-24 Preseason Poll
| No. |
Team (1st votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
Angelo State (15) |
652 |
| 2. |
Texas Woman's (17) |
633 |
| 3. |
UT Tyler (9) |
627 |
| 4. |
Lubbock Christian (3) |
606 |
| 5. |
West Texas A&M |
524 |
| 6. |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
492 |
| 7. |
St. Edward's |
379 |
| 8. |
Cameron |
311 |
| 9. |
Oklahoma Christian |
270 |
| |
UT Permian Basin |
270 |
| 11. |
Eastern New Mexico |
248 |
| 12. |
Western New Mexico |
233 |
| 13. |
Texas A&M International |
225 |
| 14. |
UAFS |
202 |
| 15 |
Midwestern State |
172 |
| 16. |
St. Mary's |
140 |
LSC Players to Watch in 2023-24
Players listed alphabetically: # Co-Preseason Players of the Year
| Name |
Cl |
Pos |
Team |
Major |
Hometown |
| Deja Adrian |
Sr. |
G/F |
Eastern New Mexico |
Physical Education |
Houston, Texas/Aldine Senior HS |
| Kertisa Amos |
Sr. |
W |
Midwestern State |
M.S. Sports Administration |
Burleson, Texas/Centennial HS |
| Brooklin Bain |
Sr. |
G |
Oklahoma Christian |
Biology |
Comanche, Okla/ Comanche HS |
| Raiana Brown |
Sr. |
F |
Texas A&M International |
Multi-Disciplinary Studies |
Wheatley Hgts., N.Y./No.Babylon HS |
| # Grace Foster |
Jr. |
F |
Lubbock Christian |
Criminal Justice |
Childress, Texas/Childress HS |
| Riley Hayes |
Jr. |
G |
UAFS |
Business Administration |
Cave Springs, Ark./Bentonville HS |
| Ashley Ingram |
Jr. |
F |
Texas Woman's |
Kinesiology/Pre-Occupational Therapy |
Bridgeport, Texas/Bridgeport HS |
| Katie King |
Sr. |
PG |
Cameron |
Business Administration |
Harrah, Okla./Harrah HS |
| # Sawyer Lloyd |
Sr. |
G |
Angelo State |
Exercise Science |
Wall, Texas/Wall HS |
| Meagan Mendazona |
So. |
G |
UT Tyler |
Psychology |
Independence, Ore./Central HS |
| JAYDA RUFFUS-MILNER |
Gr. |
F |
St. Edward's |
Business Administration |
No. Hills, Calif./Harvard-Westlake HS |
| Karley Motschenbacher |
Jr. |
G |
West Texas A&M |
Finance |
Moorhead, Minn./Park Christian HS |
| Alexus Quaadman |
Gr. |
P |
UT Permian Basin |
MBA |
Las Vegas, Nev./Spring Valley |
| Mia Rivers |
Jr. |
G |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
Kinesiology |
College Station, Texas/College Stn. HS |
| Natalia Ryng |
Gr. |
F |
St. Mary's |
Management |
Gdynia, Poland/SMS Pzkosz Lomianki |
| Sydney Wright |
Sr, |
G |
Western New Mexico |
Interdisciplinary Studies |
Houston, Texas/Henley HS |
