Point Park women's basketball predicted 7th of 13 teams in the RSC Preseason Coaches' Poll

MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- Point Park University women's basketball came in seventh of 13 teams in the 2023-24 River States Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll. The RSC head coaches have the Pioneers exactly in the middle of the league with six teams ahead of them and six behind. 

Point Park, in its second year under head coach Dave Scarborough, received 76 total votes in the poll. The Pioneers return three of five starters and four of their top six players from last year.

Point Park was 11-16 overall, 7-10 RSC in 2022-23. The Pioneers reached the RSC Championship quarterfinals after making it back to the postseason and winning a conference playoff game for the first time in eight years. 

Point Park is picked fourth of six teams in the RSC East Division, which is predicted as the tougher of the two divisions in the conference. Five of the top seven teams in the overall RSC preseason poll are from the RSC East, which includes conference favorite Rio Grande (Ohio). Other RSC East teams Shawnee State (Ohio), Alice Lloyd (Ky.) and WVU Tech are picked in the top seven of the overall conference as well. 

The Pioneers have two players returning who earned all-conference honors last year. Senior guard Ari Bleda (14.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg) and junior guard Emma Pavelek (11.0 ppg) both earned All-RSC Honorable Mention last season and they both started all 27 games.

Sophomore guard Alexis Giles (10.4 ppg) is a third starter returning and brings 52 made 3-pointers from her freshman year. Coral Homs (5.0 ppg) is the fourth and final returner from last year's roster having played in all 27 games with eight starts. 

The Pioneers have 19 players on their roster with 10 transfers and five freshmen added to the program this year. The transfers include five from NCAA Division I, three from NCAA Division II and two from junior college. Coach Scarborough, who spent nine years as an assistant coach at the DI level, brought that recrutiting talent and connections to the Point Park campus this year. 

Four of the five NCAA DI transfers have local ties with Kennesaw State (Ga.) transfers Gabriella Legister and Gillian Piccolino products of Chartiers Valley HS and Keystone Oaks HS, respectively. Isabella Pelaia is a Mars High School graduate transferring in from Mount St. Mary's (Md.). Nyla Rozier is a graduate of Shadyside Academy and transferred in from St. Francis (Pa.). The final DI transfer is Fatim Sarr Ndow, a native of Spain who is transferring in from Robert Morris (Pa.). 

Point Park opens the season Oct. 26 at home versus Penn State Shenango with a 5:00 p.m. tipoff. Home games are once again played at CCAC-Allegheny. The Pioneers play an exhibition game at Pitt on Oct. 30 starting at 7:00 p.m.

RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES' PRESEASON POLL (OCT. 12, 2023)
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)

RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL EAST DIVISION
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)

RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL WEST DIVISION
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)

RSC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
(Top 10 Returning Players)