Carbondale Reporter

The Southern Illinois University (SIU) women's basketball team has been projected to finish 10th in the Missouri Valley Conference Preseason Poll, as announced on Tuesday. The Salukis received a total of 167 points in the poll.

Drake University emerged as the preseason favorite with 566 total votes and 39 first-place votes. Following Drake were Northern Iowa with 504 votes and six first-place nods, and Belmont with 475 votes and three first-place endorsements.

Katie Dinnebier from Drake was named the Preseason Player of the Year. She joins her teammate Anna Miller, along with Grace Bofelli and Maya McDermott from Northern Iowa, Lacy Stokes from Missouri State, and Katelyn Young from Murray State on the Preseason All-Conference Team.

Murray State and Missouri State are expected to finish fourth and fifth respectively. UIC is predicted to come in sixth place, followed by Illinois State in seventh, Valparaiso in eighth, and Indiana State at ninth position.

Bradley and Evansville round out the poll predictions at 11th and 12th places respectively.

The Salukis concluded their previous season with an eighth-place finish, holding an overall record of 11-20 and a conference record of 6-14.

For updates on SIU women's basketball, fans can follow them on Twitter at @SIU_WBasketball, Instagram at @SIU_WBasketball, or Facebook at Facebook.com/SalukiAthletics. The "Salukis" Mobile App is also available for download on the App Store.