Rivals pick UALR; Foley isn’t so sure

UALR Coach Joe Foley knows why his women’s basketball team was picked Tuesday by league coaches to win the Sun Belt Conference.

A team that returns six players with starting experience from a team that won 24 games the previous year usually earns such honors.

But Foley put his team as the third choice - behind Western Kentucky and Arkansas State -in the poll, citing a pair of injuries that could leave two starters out of the lineup for the entire season.

“I have a little bit more information than they do,” Foley said.

Still, UALR will open Foley’s 11th season as coach as the Sun Belt favorite, having earned six of 10 first-place votes and 95 points, narrowly edging Western Kentucky, which received four first-place votes and 92 points.

Arkansas State, which was 15-15 last year, was picked third and earned 82 points. It was followed by Troy, South Alabama, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana-Lafayette, Georgia State, Texas State and Texas-Arlington.

Foley will take the compliment but said it could be tough to realize without junior guard Ka’Nesheia Cobbins and senior forward Hannah Fohne.

Cobbins, who started 16 games last year and was UALR’s best defender, tore an anterior cruciate ligament in September and is expected to miss the season. Fohne, who averaged 31.8 minutes in 32 starts, has a back injury that could require surgery, Foley said. Fohne averaged 5.7 points and 6.1 rebounds, while Cobbins averaged 5.3 points and had 41 steals.

“We’ve bee hit pretty hard here,” Foley said. “It’ll be interesting to see what we do. Everything will change quite a bit from now until the end.”

UALR guards Taylor Ford and Taylor Gault were named to the All-Sun Belt first team also released Tuesday. Arkansas State forward Jane Morrill was named to the first team, as were Western Kentucky’s Chastity Gooch and Alexis Govan, who was named the preseason player of the year.

Ford and Gault are three year starters who combined to average 23.8 points a game last year.

“They have that kind of ability, and I hope they have that kind of work ethic this year,” Foley said. “That’s what you need, your juniors and seniors being on the all-conference team.”

Sports, Pages 21 on 10/30/2013

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