Seahawks tabbed for fourth place in coaches' poll

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The University of New England, the 2013-14 defending Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) champion, has been unanimously voted as the favorite to win the 2014-15 women's basketball championship after receiving all 10 first place votes for a total of 100 points in the CCC preseason poll. The 2013-14 runner-up Roger Williams University earned second place with 82 points, while Endicott College claimed third with 80 points and Salve Regina University was selected fourth after receiving 73 points to round out the top billing.

Voting for the preseason poll was conducted among the league's head women's basketball coaches.

Three CCC teams competed in the postseason in either the NCAA Tournament or the ECAC Tournament a season ago. After the Nor'easters captured their third consecutive, fourth overall CCC title, a 61-50 victory over No. 2 seeded Roger Williams, their postseason continued with an 80-77 first round victory over New York University in the NCAA Tournament. This was the second time in program history that the UNE women advanced to the second round. Unfortunately, the Nor'easters were handed a tough 57-54 overtime loss in the second round by fourth-ranked Tufts.

Roger Williams University received an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament and was eliminated in a tough 67-56 loss to Plattsburgh State in the first round.

Endicott College also competed in the postseason and claimed the 2014 ECAC Championship with a 79-76 win over fourth seeded Smith College.

All 10 CCC women's basketball teams will kick off their quest for the 2014-15 conference title this weekend. The top eight teams in the 2014-15 regular-season conference standings will qualify for the conference tournament, which gets underway Tuesday, February 24, with quarterfinal action. The winners of the quarterfinal matchups will move on to the semifinals on Thursday, February 26. The two semifinal victors will battle for the CCC championship on Saturday, February 28.

Click HERE to view the 2014-15 CCC Women's Basketball composite schedule.

Cori Hughes enters her eighth season as head coach of the Salve Regina University Seahawks; she has compiled a 125-69 record (.644) in seven years with four trips to the CCC finals and three conference championships that advanced Salve Regina to the NCAA Division III Championships in 2009, 2011, and 2012. Junior guard Meaghan Harden (Sandwich, Mass.) seeks to become the fastest Seahawk to amass 1,000 career points; she enters the season with 993 points in 56 games (17.7 ppg). Harden set the school's single-season scoring mark last year (527 points in 27 games; 19.5 ppg). Salve Regina, which set a program-record in 2013-14 for free-throw percentage (.700; 402 FTM - 574 FTA), is establishing a charity stripe charity to support Mount St. Joseph's freshman Lauren Hill in her personal goal to play college basketball and, and as a result, raise awareness of pediatric brain cancer research and resources for children and families facing Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG) which is now an incurable condition. Lauren and her family have chosen The Cure Starts Now Foundation as the recipient of the funds that have been raised in recognition of Lauren's courage and incredible strength (details to follow). Brianna Del Valle (Belchertown, Mass.) and Laura Anne Dinan (Monterey, Mass.) have been named captains for the 2014-15 season.