DURHAM, N.C. – The North Carolina Central University women's basketball team has fuel for its upcoming season as the Lady Eagles were voted 13th in the 2017-18 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) preseason poll released on Wednesday, Oct .25.
 
New head coach Trisha Stafford-Odom is taking over a program that finished with an 8-21 overall record last season and has not had a 10-plus win season since 2013-14. However, the Lady Eagles have shown signs of progress as their league ledger of 7-9 was just one-win shy of a .500 record. The seven conference wins were the most by NCCU in a season since joining the conference in 2011-12.
 
The maroon and gray exceeded expectations of the pollsters last year. NCCU was picked 13th out of 13 teams that season as well and the Lady Eagles ended up tying for ninth place in the regular season standings.
 
NCCU has a "Now" motto with a prospect of becoming successful this season instead of slowly rebuilding over a few years. Finishing even higher in the league standings than last year to gain more respect than last-place votes from within the conference will help accomplish that goal.
 
Stafford-Odom and her coaching staff of Tynesha Lewis and A.G. Hall will be mentoring a young squad with just one senior. The Lady Eagles return seven letter winners while another seven players will be making their NCCU debut this season, including three freshmen and four transfers.
 
Forward Kierona Morton will be the lone senior on the squad. She has played in 79 of a possible 86 games over her first three seasons, including 44 starts, and will be tasked to improve on her career averages of 2.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
 
The Lady Eagles were the lowest scoring team in the MEAC last season and have lost their top scorer in Morgan Jones. Stafford-Odom expects to get more offensive production out of her squad with a higher tempo style of play depending on the opponent. The athletic structure of the team that has been constructed for this season should allow for more shots to be put up, which will lead to more points.
 
NCCU's top four returning scorers all averaged near six points per game in junior guard Dominique Adams (6.6), sophomore guard Jada Blow (6.4), junior guard Rodneysha Martin (5.7) and junior forward Deja McCain (5.4).
 
Adams led the MEAC with 36 minutes played per game. She will be looked upon to increase her scoring as a combo guard who also averaged 4.7 rebounds per game.
 
Blow was a streaky scorer with a couple 20-plus point performances as a rookie. She made 32 three-pointers in 27 games and has the potential to become a more reliable scorer.
 
Martin and McCain will serve as NCCU's co-captains in their junior seasons. Martin is a captain that will lead by example and who returns a team-best 1.2 assists per game and was one of the best free throw shooters in the league last season at 84.3%. McCain is vocal leader that pulled down 5.3 rebounds per game in 28 games (23 starts).
 
Junior Jayla Calhoun, redshirt freshman Jazlin Taylor and junior transfer Caira Benton will add depth to the perimeter for the Lady Eagles.
 
Calhoun played limited minutes in 21 games last season, but has made a strong impression on the coaching staff. Calhoun is considered a strong shooter and can be a mismatch for defenders at the point at 5-foot-10.
 
Taylor was expected to be a key player last season, but missed the whole campaign due to injury. She can jump right back into the lineup when healthy.
 
Benton averaged 10 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.8 assists in two seasons at Mt. San Antonio College. She earned first team all-conference honors twice in the California Community College Athletic Association and helped the Mounties to couple league and state titles with a 67-3 record over that span.
 
Sophomore Paulina Afriyie led NCCU in rebounding as a freshman, grabbing 5.5 boards per game. Her play developed as the season progressed. Afriyie averaged 7.3 rebounds per game in 16 league tilts to close out her rookie year.
 
NCCU's post has been revamped with five newcomers expected to step into the paint. A pair of freshmen in Kayla Hall (6-3) and Alyssa Thompson (6-1) along with redshirt junior transfer Ezinne Mbamalu (6-2) add much-needed height to the Lady Eagles interior. Hall, from Queens, New York, and Thompson, who hails from Charlotte, North Carolina, both had strong prep careers. Mbamalu, who has fought injuries throughout her collegiate career, has a resilient desire to get back on the court after playing 45 games at Winthrop University from 2014-16.
 
Junior Sami Oliver-Alexander and sophomore Darria Hewitt are two more juco transfers from California. Oliver-Alexander played two seasons at Diablo Valley College and she earned all-conference honors as a sophomore after averaging 13.1 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game. Hewitt posted 8.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks per game in one season at Riverside City College.
 
The 14 Lady Eagles will play a 29-game regular season schedule. Nine of NCCU's 13 non-conference games will be on the road, which should help the squad become battle tested for MEAC play in the new calendar year.
 
2017-18 MEAC Predicted Order of Finish
As voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors; first-place votes are in parentheses
 
School                              Points
1. Hampton (13)                        320
2. Bethune-Cookman (7)                 292
3. North Carolina A&T State (5)        271
4. Norfolk State                       232
5. Howard                              223
6. Florida A&M                         185
7. Maryland Eastern Shore (1)          184
8. Morgan State                        166
9. Coppin State                        155
10. Savannah State                      97
11. Delaware State                      93
12. South Carolina State                78
13. North Carolina Central              70
 
2017-18 Preseason All-MEAC Teams
As voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors
 
Preseason Player of the Year: NaJai Pollard, Delaware State
 
First Team
Name                     Pos.    Ht.   Class             School           Hometown
NaJai Pollard              F    5-11     Jr.     Delaware State       Richmond, Va.        
Genesis Lucas              G     5-7   r-Sr.       Coppin State     Brandywine, Md.
Kayla Roberts            G/F     6-1     Sr.      Norfolk State         Miami, Fla.             
Ashanti Hunt               G    5-11     Jr.    Bethune-Cookman    Washington, D.C.
Monnazjea Finney-Smith   G/F     6-1     Sr.            Hampton     Portsmouth, Va.      
 
Second Team
Name                     Pos.    Ht.   Class             School            Hometown
Braennan Farrar            G     5-6     Sr.       Morgan State      St. Louis, Mo.
Bryaesha Blair             G     5-4     Gr. South Carolina St.       Chicago, Ill.   
Jephany Brown            G/F     6-0     Sr.            Hampton    Washington, D.C.
Alexus Lessears            C     6-3     So.     N.C. A&T State     Cleveland, Ohio
Shakerrya Morrison       G/F     6-0     Sr.        Florida A&M       Zebulon, N.C.
 
Third Team
Name                    Pos.     Ht.   Class             School            Hometown
Jordan Strode              G     5-8   r-Sr.      Norfolk State     Charlotte, N.C.        
K'lynn Willis              G     5-3     Jr.            Hampton      Detroit, Mich.          
Keyera Eaton               G     5-8     Jr.  Md. Eastern Shore Winston-Salem, N.C.
Chance Graham              C    5-11     So.       Coppin State Upper Marlboro, Md.
Tykyrah Williams           F    5-10     Sr.       Morgan State        Durham, N.C.