Pair of Trojans Selected as Preseason All-Conference, Troy Picked Second

TROY, Ala. – Troy women's basketball was picked to finish second in the Sun Belt Conference preseason coaches' poll while two Trojans earned preseason all-conference honors, the league announced Wednesday.

Troy earned 123 points in the voting with four first-place votes, trailing only Little Rock in the poll who earned 126 points and six first-place votes. This is the second consecutive year that Troy and Little Rock have been voted as the top two teams in the preseason.

Senior forward Amber Rivers was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt second team while senior guard Japonica James earned third-team honors.

Rivers, a 2017-18 All-Sun Belt Second Team honoree, was named to the preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team. Rivers is coming off a stellar junior campaign where she led the Trojans in scoring at 10.4 points per game while finishing fourth on the team in rebounding at 4.2 boards per game. In her three years at Troy, she has amassed 856 career points and is on the verge of joining the 1,000-point club at Troy.

James earned preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team honors after a successful junior season where she finished third on the team in scoring at 10.1 points per game while also finishing third in rebounds with an average of 5.8 per contest. James posted a conference-best field goal percentage of 57 percent. On the defensive side, James averaged 1.6 steals per game in conference play which ranked as the 12th best average in the conference.

The Trojans are under the direction of head coach Chanda Rigby, who is set to begin her eighth season at the helm. Troy opens the 2019-20 season at home against Fort Valley State on Tuesday, Nov. 5 at 6 p.m.

2019-20 Sun Belt Preseason Coaches' Poll
1. Little Rock (6) - 127 pts
2. Troy (4) - 123 pts
3. UTA (1) - 120 pts
4. South Alabama (1) - 119 pts
5. Appalachian State - 100 pts
6. Georgia State - 73 pts
7. Coastal Carolina - 66 pts
8. Louisiana - 64 pts
9. Texas State - 59 pts
10. Arkansas State - 44 pts
11. Georgia Southern - 26 pts
12. ULM - 15 pts

Preseason All-Sun Belt First Team
DJ Williams, Coastal Carolina (Senior, Guard, Moreno Valley, Calif.)
Jada Lewis, Georgia State (RS-Junior, Guard, Power Springs, Ga.)
Kyra Collier, Little Rock (Senior, Guard, N. Little Rock, Ark.)
Savannah Jones, South Alabama (RS-Junior, Guard, Ocean Springs, Miss.)
Antoinette Lewis, South Alabama (Junior, Forward, Memphis, Tenn.)

Preseason All-Sun Belt Second Team
Bayley Plummer, Appalachian State (Senior, Center, Thomasville, N.C.)
Alexis Brown, Georgia Southern (Senior, Guard, Madison, Ga.)
Tori Lasker, Little Rock (Junior, Guard, Mayflower, Ark.)
Claire Chastain, UTA (Sophomore, Guard, Shawnee, Okla.)
Amber Rivers, Troy (Senior, Forward, Birmingham, Ala.)

Preseason All-Sun Belt Third Team
Pre Stanley, Appalachian State (Junior, Guard, Rockledge, Fla.)
Peyton Martin, Arkansas State (Junior, Forward, Pine Bluff, Ark.)
Shaforia Kines, South Alabama (Senior, Guard, Birmingham, Ala.)
Katie Ferrell, UTA (Sophomore, Forward, Plano, Texas)
Japonica James, Troy (Senior, Forward, Mobile, Ala.)

Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year
Antoinette Lewis, South Alabama (Junior, Forward, Memphis, Tenn.)

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Pair of Trojans Selected as Preseason All-Conference, Troy Picked Second

Players Mentioned

Japonica James

Amber Rivers

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