Women's Basketball | October 21, 2014

RICHMOND, Va. - Senior guard Alicia Cropper has been named to the Atlantic 10 Preseason Second Team, announced by the league office at Tuesday's A-10 Women's Basketball Media Day in Richmond, Va.

In addition, the preseason poll was released with the Explorers tabbed to finish eighth in the expanded 14-team league. Dayton is the unanimous preseason favorite, followed by George Washington, Saint Joseph's, St. Bonaventure and Fordham. Richmond was picked sixth, followed by Duquesne and the Explorers. Saint Louis was tabbed ninth, and VCU, George Mason, league newcomer Davidson, Rhode Island and Massachusetts round out the preseason poll.

"I thought we would be picked in the middle of the pack," Head Coach Jeff Williams commented. "The teams picked ahead of us didn't lose a lot of players, so if you want to move up you have to beat teams that are ahead of you." 

Cropper joins Taylor Brown (George Mason), Amber Deane (Dayton), Genevieve Okoro (Richmond) and Caira Washington (George Washington) on the preseason all-conference second team.

"I think before it's all said and done, Alicia will have a great opportunity of being first team," Williams said. "She has to have a great season, but more importantly we have to win games. Winning takes care of everything."

Cropper looks to continue the success she found last season, when she averaged a team-best 14.7 points per game and ranked seventh in the A-10 with 16.2 ppg in league play. She earned Atlantic 10 Second Team honors and was also a Philadelphia Big 5 First Team pick last season. Statistically, the 5'7 guard also grabbed 5.3 rebounds and dished out 2.6 assists per game. She led the squad in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 30.8 percent (53-172) of her shots from behind the arc, and was second on the team with a 72.2 percent shooting clip at the charity stripe.

Cropper scored in double figures in all but five games last season, including the last 13 straight contests. She was the Explorers' team-high scorer on 15 separate occasions and was the team-high rebounder four times. She posted a career day in the Explorers' 77-68 road upset of GW on January 25th as she drained a career-best 32 points in the effort, also marking the highest scoring total for any Explorer last season. She hit the 20-point mark six times, including a 24-point output against then-No. 22 Dayton.

She helped the squad post a 15-15 record last season which included nine wins in A-10 play, the most conference wins since the 1996-97 squad went 12-4 in the A-10.

The Explorers open the 2014-15 campaign on Friday, Nov. 14, with a Big 5 contest at Temple. The Atlantic 10 season begins on January 4 with a trip to newcomer Davidson, and the A-10 tournament is slated for March 4-8 at the Richmond Coliseum.

 
Preseason First Team All-Conference

Name	School	Year	Pos
Natasha Cloud	Saint Joseph's	Sr.	G
Katie Healy	St. Bonaventure	Jr.	F
Andrea Hoover	Dayton	Sr.	G
Jonquel Jones	George Washington	Jr.	G
Ally Malott	Dayton	Sr.	F

 

Preseason Second Team All-Conference

Name	School	Year	Pos.
Taylor Brown	George Mason	Jr.	G
Alicia Cropper	La Salle	Sr.	G
Amber Deane	Dayton	Jr.	G
Gen Okoro	Richmond	Sr.	F
Caira Washington	George Washington	So.	F

 

Preseason Third Team All-Conference

Name	School	Year	Pos.
Samantha Clark	Fordham	Sr.	F
Celeste Edwards	Dayton	So.	G
Sarah Fairbanks	Saint Joseph's	Jr.	F
Erin Nelson	Saint Louis	So.	F
Kiera Robinson	VCU	So.	G

 
Preseason Defensive All-Conference Team

Name	School	Year	Pos.
Natasha Cloud	Saint Joseph's	Sr.	G
Celeste Edwards	Dayton	So.	G
Jonquel Jones	George Washington	Jr.	F
Chakecia Miller	George Washington	Sr.	G
Caira Washington	George Washington	So.	F