2017-18 AMCC Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
BRADFORD, Pa. – As voted on by the women's basketball coaches of Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference, senior Ali Rinfrette of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's basketball team has been selected as the Preseason Player of the Year, while the team was voted to finish in second in the conference, officials announced Monday.
"Although there are pressures that come with being picked second, I'm excited to work with these talented you women, and we are prepared to face all challenges as a team and compete," Head Coach Sharay Hall said. "Ali's career here at Pitt-Bradford has been a successful one thus far, and she deserves the recognition. We hope to end her career here with a great season."
Rinfrette is the reigning AMCC Player of the Year, posting the second-best scoring average in the conference at 21.6 points per game while earning the AMCC's best three-point field goal percentage at 38.4 percent, also making the most three-pointers in the conference at 71.
The Bradford native enters her senior season with 1,514 career points, just 96 shy of the all-time Pitt-Bradford scoring record held by Diane Eggleton (1,610). The guard is on pace to become the first 2,000-point scorer in program history.
In addition to being the conference's Player of the Year last season, D3Hoops.com honored Rinfrette as an All-Region selection.
The seven-time AMCC defending champion La Roche was selected to finish first in this season's coaches' poll.
The Panthers finished tied for second with Medaille in the AMCC in 2016-17 with a 12-6 mark in conference play. The coaches of the AMCC voted Medaille as this season's third-place finisher.
Pitt-Bradford advanced to the AMCC semifinals but ultimately fell to Medaille, 91-87, on Feb. 25.
The Panthers will host 11 home games this season, nine against AMCC opponents.
Pitt-Bradford is set to open up its 2017-18 season playing host to Mansfield on Wednesday, Nov. 15, at 7 p.m.
The AMCC Championship will be held Sunday, Feb. 25, at the site of the number one seed, with the winner earning the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
