MOREHEAD, Ky. – In a preseason poll of head coaches and sports information directors representing each Ohio Valley Conference institution, Morehead State women's basketball was selected to make a fourth-place OVC finish in 2017-18.

Coming off Second Team All-OVC honors in 2016-17, junior guard Miranda Crockett was tabbed 2017-18 Preseason All-OVC.

"(Crockett) has come in and had a marvelous career," said head coach Greg Todd. "She loves to compete and works hard every day in practice. We expect big things."

The Eagles concluded last season with a 21-10 (11-5 OVC) record. The mark propelled Morehead State to second place in the OVC, earning the program its first ever trip to the Women's National Invitation Tournament at season's end.

"It would be a great accomplishment for our team if we can have another solid year," Todd said. "We've established ourselves as one of the better teams in the league, so we definitely know it's going to be a challenge. We've got a lot to prove."

Following the departure of former first team all-conference guard Brianna McQueen, Crockett leads all MSU returning scorers with 11.2 points per game. Senior forward Eriel McKee is close behind with an 11.1-point average.

After obtaining eligibility in the second semester of last season, redshirt junior Darianne Seward will resume starting point guard duties, toting 9.3 points and 5.2 assists per game. Senior post player Brooke Todd ranked second in the league with 83 blocked shots a season ago.

Belmont's Darby Maggard and Sally McCabe were chosen 2017-18 Preseason Co-Players of the Year, as the Bruins were picked to win the OVC for the second year in a row.

2017-18 OVC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Belmont (22 first-place votes)
2. SIU Edwardsville
3. UT Martin (2)
4. Morehead State
5. Tennessee Tech
6. Austin Peay
7. Jacksonville State
8. Murray State
    Southeast Missouri
10. Eastern Kentucky
11. Eastern Illinois
12. Tennessee State

2017-18 PRESEASON ALL-OVC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM
Darby Maggard, Belmont (Co-Player of the Year)
Sally McCabe, Belmont (Co-Player of the Year)
Kylee Smith, Belmont
Grace Lennox, Eastern Illinois
Miranda Crockett, Morehead State
Ke'Shunan James, Murray State
Donshel Beck, SIU Edwardsville
Yaktavia Hickson, Tennessee Tech
Ashton Feldhaus, UT Martin
Kendall Spray, UT Martin
Myah Taylor, UT Martin