THINKS THE EAGLES STOLE ONE
That wasn't the case yesterday when the selections were announced during the A-10's preseason teleconference.
Temple (21-10), which finished tied for second last season, made the best showing among the local trio at fifth behind front-running Xavier (25-7).
St. Joseph's (13-17) was chosen ninth, while La Salle (10-19) was picked 13th in the 14-team group.
Temple's LaKeisha Eaddy made the preseason second team and all-defensive team. The Owls' Kristen McCarthy was voted to the third team, along with St. Joseph's Brittany Ford.
However, the preseason predictions didn't rile the local coaches.
"When I saw the picks, I was a little disappointed," said second-year Temple coach Tonya Cardoza. "But when you think about what we lost, we don't have two post players [Shenita Landry, Shanea Cotton] who contributed a lot.
St. Joseph's Cindy Griffin is excited about the Hawks' new Michael J. Hagan Arena.
There will be less wear and tear from last season when her team traveled to other sites for practice and home games because of construction work on the facility.
"The arena has caused a major buzz here," Griffin said. "We have four seniors to lead us. Our players now look to being in their own locker room, stepping 10 feet onto the floor [for games], or stepping 500 feet into our practice facility, instead of jumping into a bus or van to go somewhere else."
A-10 forecast: No. 1 Xavier (12 first-place votes), No. 2 tied-Charlotte, Dayton (1) and Richmond (1), No. 5 Temple, No. 6 tied-Duquesne and St. Bonaventure, No. 8 George Washington, No. 9 St. Joseph's, No. 10 St. Louis, No. 11 Massachusetts, No. 12 Rhode Island, No. 13 La Salle, No. 14 Fordham.
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