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Troy has been selected as the preseason favorite to win the 2021-22 Sun Belt Conference women’s basketball title in a vote of the league’s 12 head coaches.

The Trojans, who captured the 2021 Sun Belt Conference Tournament Championship, garnered 11 first-place votes. Louisiana, which won the program’s first Sun Belt Conference regular-season crown in 2020-21, was picked second and earned one first-place vote.

Troy is coming off a 22-6 campaign a year ago, including a 15-2 tally in league play. The Trojans made their third NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Chanda Rigby last season, erasing a 16-point deficit against second-seeded Texas A&M before falling by just four points. Rigby was the 2020-21 Sun Belt Coach of the Year.

Troy returns a trio of All-Sun Belt Conference selections from a year ago, including Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year and Second-Team All-Conference selection Felmas Koranga, Second-Team pick Jasmine Robinson and Third-Team selection Tiyah Johnson. The Trojans are ranked No. 24 in the preseason by World Exposure Report.

Louisiana went 16-8 a year ago with a 13-1 Sun Belt Conference mark. The Ragin Cajuns were powered by a program-record 15-game winning streak and advanced to the second round of the Women’s National Invitation Tournament. Louisiana returns Ty’Reona Doucet, a First-Team All-Sun Belt Conference selection and the league’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2020-21, and Brandi Williams, a Second-Team All-Sun Belt honoree.

Sun Belt Conference action begins Thursday, December 30. Teams will play a 16-game conference slate that will culminate with all 12 teams competing in the 2022 Sun Belt Women’s Basketball Championship at the Pensacola Bay Center in Pensacola, Fla., March 2-7, 2022.

The Sun Belt will release its 2021-22 Preseason Player of the Year and Preseason All-Conference Teams on Thursday.

2021-22 Sun Belt Conference Women’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
1. Troy (11) – 142
2. Louisiana (1) – 124
3. UTA – 101
4. Texas State – 95
5. Little Rock – 92
6. App State – 87
7. Georgia State – 70
8. South Alabama – 66
9. Georgia Southern – 54
10. Arkansas State – 47
11. Coastal Carolina – 39
12. ULM – 19

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