Temple University Athletics
Butts, Davis Earn Preseason Honors as Women's Basketball is Picked to Finish 6th in American
10.15.18 | Women's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- The Temple women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the 2018-19 American Athletic Conference preseason poll, as voted on by the league's coaches. The Owls had a pair of selections to the All-Conference preseason team, as Alliya Butts and Mia Davis garnered nods.
Butts is set for her fifth year at Temple after missing the 2017-18 season due to injury. The Edgewater Park, N.J. native is a three-time All-Conference and All-Big 5 selection, and was the 2014-15 Big 5 Rookie of the Year. She holds the program career record for threes, and is eighth on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,481 points. Butts has been a key piece of the Owls' success her first three seasons, including averaging 21.3 points per game during the 2016-17 postseason. She scored a season-best 28 points in Temple's first round 2017 NCAA Tournament game against Oregon, and has career highs of 30 points, seven assists, and seven steals.
Davis had a breakout rookie season last year, and is the only underclassmen to earn preseason All-Conference honors. The Baltimore, Md. native finished second on the Owls in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging 11.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Davis tallied five double-doubles last season, and was named a unanimous selection to the conference's All-Freshman team. Against Temple's toughest competition of the season, her totals increased, as she averaged 15.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game against nationally-raked opponents last year.
The coaches voted five-time defending American champions, UConn, as the favorite to win the league title, as the Huskies grabbed 11 of 12 first-place votes. UConn totaled 121 point to finish ahead of USF (111 pts) for the top spot in the preseason rankings.
2018 American Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
Preseason Player of the Year: Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn
Preseason All-Conference Team
First Team
Napheesa Collier, UConn*
Crystal Dangerfield, UConn
Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn*
Jasmyne Harris, Houston
Kitija Laksa, USF*
Second Team
Angela Harris, Houston
Laura Ferreira, USF
Alicia Froling, SMU
Alliya Butts, Temple
Mia Davis, Temple
*denotes unanimous selection
Butts is set for her fifth year at Temple after missing the 2017-18 season due to injury. The Edgewater Park, N.J. native is a three-time All-Conference and All-Big 5 selection, and was the 2014-15 Big 5 Rookie of the Year. She holds the program career record for threes, and is eighth on the program's all-time scoring list with 1,481 points. Butts has been a key piece of the Owls' success her first three seasons, including averaging 21.3 points per game during the 2016-17 postseason. She scored a season-best 28 points in Temple's first round 2017 NCAA Tournament game against Oregon, and has career highs of 30 points, seven assists, and seven steals.
Davis had a breakout rookie season last year, and is the only underclassmen to earn preseason All-Conference honors. The Baltimore, Md. native finished second on the Owls in scoring and rebounding last season, averaging 11.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Davis tallied five double-doubles last season, and was named a unanimous selection to the conference's All-Freshman team. Against Temple's toughest competition of the season, her totals increased, as she averaged 15.2 points and 8.9 rebounds per game against nationally-raked opponents last year.
The coaches voted five-time defending American champions, UConn, as the favorite to win the league title, as the Huskies grabbed 11 of 12 first-place votes. UConn totaled 121 point to finish ahead of USF (111 pts) for the top spot in the preseason rankings.
Houston (95 pts) was picked to finish third, edging UCF (92). Cincinnati followed with 74 points with Temple right behind with 72. SMU (55), ECU (46), Tulane (42), Wichita State (35), Memphis (25), and Tulsa (24) rounded out the list.
Temple finished a disappointing 2017-18 season at 12-19 overall, but upset sixth-seeded Wichita State in the first round of the American Tournament, and nearly knocked off third-seeded UCF.
Temple opens the 2018-19 season at home on November 6, hosting Delaware State at 5:30 p.m. The Owls will also host an exhibition game, playing the University of the Sciences on November 30 at 7:00 p.m.
2018 American Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
| Place (First place votes) | Points |
| 1. UConn (10) | 121 |
| 2. USF (1) | 111 |
| 3. Houston | 95 |
| 4. UCF | 92 |
| 5. Cincinnati | 74 |
| 6. Temple | 72 |
| 7. SMU | 55 |
| 8. ECU | 46 |
| 9. Tulane | 42 |
| 10. Wichita St. | 35 |
| 11. Memphis | 25 |
| 12. Tulsa | 24 |
Preseason Player of the Year: Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn
Preseason All-Conference Team
First Team
Napheesa Collier, UConn*
Crystal Dangerfield, UConn
Katie Lou Samuelson, UConn*
Jasmyne Harris, Houston
Kitija Laksa, USF*
Second Team
Angela Harris, Houston
Laura Ferreira, USF
Alicia Froling, SMU
Alliya Butts, Temple
Mia Davis, Temple
*denotes unanimous selection
Players Mentioned
G
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