ATHENS, Tenn. – The coaches in the Appalachian Athletics Conference have spoken and expect the University of Pikeville to finish third this season in women's basketball.
 
Five of them think the Bears will be the league's best team.
 
Reinhardt (Ga.) is the preseason pick to win the league, getting five first-place votes and 179 points from the 14 coaches. Milligan (Tenn.) placed second, with four first-place votes and 176 points.
 
The Bears followed in the tight race at the top, garnering 173 points and the remaining five first-place nods.
 
UPike is coming off an injury-plagued season that saw it finish 16-14 on the season and 14-6 in the league. The Bears entered the tournament seeded fourth and knocked off Tennessee Wesleyan 65-58 before falling to top-seeded Milligan 64-61 in the semifinals.
 
Two first-team all-conference players and a second-team pick are returning from that squad. Among them are last season's freshman of the year, Anika Stehbens, who averaged 16.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
 
Junior Jaaliyah Warren was also on the first team after averaging 12.0 points per game on 39.9 percent shooting from the arc. Senior Rachel Bush was a repeating member of the second team, averaging 11.5 points and 6.9 rebounds a game.
 
Sophie Adkins joined Stehbens on the all-freshman team, finishing with an average of 10.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing.
 
Johnson (Tenn.) and Tennessee Wesleyan round out the top five.
 
The second five are Bryan (Tenn.), Spartanburg Methodist (S.C.), Brenau (Ga.) Columbia (S.C.) and Union Commonwealth.
 
Montreat (N.C.), Truett McConnell (Ga.), Columbia International (S.C.) and Bluefield (Va.) complete the field.
 
The regular season begins on Wednesday, Nov. 4, when the Bears host WVU Tech at the Appalachian Wireless Arena at 5:30 p.m.