CHARLOTTE, N.C. (www.BigSouthSports.com) — High Point University’s women’s basketball team has been chosen as the favorite in the Big South Conference’s annual preseason poll for the 2021-22 season, it was announced on Wednesday.
The defending Big South Champion Panthers are the women’s preseason favorite for the first time since 2009-10 and just the second time overall. Last year’s regular-season and Tournament champion with a 17-3 conference mark, High Point received 11 of the 12 first-place votes from the voting panel of head coaches and 143 total points to win the conference in 2021-22. The Panthers return four starters and eight letterwinners from last year’s squad that won a league-best 22 overall games.
Campbell was voted second in the women’s poll with 121 points, while Longwood was third with 119 points — the Lancers’ highest finish in the preseason ranking. New Big South member North Carolina A&T received the remaining first-place vote and placed fourth in the poll with 114 points. Gardner-Webb finished with 93 points for the fifth spot, followed by Radford in sixth with 76 points. UNC Asheville and Presbyterian College tied for seventh with 70 points each, with Hampton landing in the ninth position with 50 points. USC Upstate (10th, 38 points), Winthrop (11th, 23 points) and Charleston Southern (12th, 18 points) rounded out the women’s preseason poll.
The college basketball season tips off Tuesday, Nov. 9. The first conference date is Wednesday, Dec. 29, and the season culminates with the 2022 Hercules Tires Big South Women’s Basketball Championship March 1-6 at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C.
2021-22 Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll
| Rk – Team (first-place votes) | Points |
| 1 – High Point (11) | 143 |
| 2 – Campbell | 121 |
| 3 – Longwood | 119 |
| 4 – North Carolina A&T (1) | 114 |
| 5 – Gardner-Webb | 93 |
| 6 – Radford | 76 |
| T-7 – UNC Asheville | 70 |
| T-7 – Presbyterian College | 70 |
| 9 – Hampton | 50 |
| 10 – USC Upstate | 38 |
| 11 – Winthrop | 23 |
| 12 – Charleston Southern | 18 |
Note: points are based on a weighted system. First-place votes received 12 points, followed by 11 points for second-place, and so on.