Your Day in Women’s Basketball, November 11: Patriot League gets transformation
By James Hyman
Conference logistics falling into place
The Patriot League has received a massive makeover for the 2021 season. In order to ensure a safe(r) playing environment, the conference has decided to divide into three parts and completely rework the schedule to limit travel and unnecessary overnight visits.
The North division is comprised of Army, Boston College, Colgate and Holy Cross. The Central division is all-Pennsylvania with Bucknell, Lafayette and Lehigh. Lastly, the South is made up of American, Loyola Maryland and Navy.
Each team will play four games against each of their division foes, and the rest of their 16-game slate will be made up conference opponents, except for Army and Navy who have been granted permission to play outside the Patriot League in specific situations.
Eight of the ten teams will make the conference tournament, however qualification for said tourney is still undecided since most teams will not even play half of the conference in the regular season.
An important facet of the collegiate season is always whether transfer athletes will be granted eligibility.
Auburn guard Alaina Rice will be able to suit up immediately after leaving Florida A&M this summer. The former Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year will bring plenty of scoring to the Tigers who have many new faces to build around.
A couple of Big 10 schools will also see newcomers on the court. Nebraska will bring in two players, Bella Cravens and Nailah Dillard, coming from Eastern Washington and Texas Tech respectively. Maryland will add Mississippi State product Chloe Bibby into the fold. All three players are potential starters who can provide an immediate positive impact on their programs.
Over in the Atlantic 10, the preseason poll was just released. The coaches are predicting little change from last year, with VCU and Dayton at 1 and 2 after meeting in the conference tournament final a year ago.
Similarly, St. Josephs and George Mason are not anticipated to move out of their cellar positions in the conference.
Both Saint Louis and Duquesne received a vote for the top spot and both will rely on their depth in what will be an unpredictable season.
Davidson and Fordham round out the contenders in the A10 for this season.