Colby-Sawyer women chosen fifth in preseason poll

Sunapee’s Lexie Hamilton

returns for her junior year

NEW LONDON — Colby-Sawyer College has been chosen to finish fifth in the 2018-19 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Women’s Basketball Preseason Poll.

Saint Joseph’s (Maine), the reigning GNAC champion, was picked to repeat after claiming 11 of the 13 first-place votes for a total of 165 points. The Monks are ranked 17th in the D3hoops.com Preseason poll.

Colby-Sawyer will be playing its first season as a member of the GNAC. The Chargers earned 119 points in the poll.

Emmanuel was selected second with 154 points and a first place vote, while Suffolk got the final first-place vote to be picked third with 145 points. Regis was voted just ahead of Colby-Sawyer with 123 points.

Preseason Coaches’ Poll

1. Saint Joseph’s (Maine) 165 (11)

2. Emmanuel 154 (1)

3. Suffolk 145 (1)

4. Regis 123

5. Colby-Sawyer 119

6. Johnson & Wales 96

7. Albertus Magnus 89

8. Norwich 80

9. Simmons 57

10. Saint Joseph (Conn.) 47

11. Lasell 41

12. Rivier 37

13. Anna Maria 30

Colby-Sawyer went 20-6 in its final season with the North Atlantic Conference (NAC) and was edged in the semifinal game. Two of the team’s wins came against GNAC teams in Suffolk and Norwich.

George Martin is set to begin his 25th season as the leader of the Chargers. Colby-Sawyer returns its top two scorers and All-NAC Second Team honorees in juniors Lexie Hamilton (Sunapee, N.H.) and Tianna Sugars (Oxford, Maine).

Hamilton is the national returning leader in assists per game with 6.8 from a season ago. She was second on the team with 13.4 points per game and third with 5.1 rebounds per game. Sugars led the Chargers by averaging a double-double of 13.9 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 47.2 percent.

The Chargers will play 12 non-conference games before starting the GNAC regular season on Jan. 8 at home against Saint Joseph (Conn.). The team opens the 2018-19 slate at home against SUNY-Delhi on Saturday, Nov. 10.

For the latest on Colby-Sawyer Athletics, follow the Chargers on Facebook (www.facebook.com/CSCathletics), Twitter (www.twitter.com/CSCathletics) and Instagram (www.instagram.com/CSCathletics).