A panel of media members picked the Long Beach State women’s basketball team to finish in fifth place in the Big West this season on Tuesday.
The 49ers received 99 total points and one first place vote in the preseason poll. LBSU finished in fourth place last year with a 9-7 conference record after starting non-conference play 13-1.
LBSU finished 22-10 overall, but exited both the Big West Tournament and Women’s National Invitation Tournament after one game.
Hawaii received 13 first place votes and 147 total points to finish on top of the poll. The Rainbow Warriors return three starters and 11 letter winners from a team that gave Hawaii its first conference title since 1993-94 last season.
UC Riverside collected two first place votes and Cal Poly received one to round out the top three. Two-time defending Big West Tournament champions CSUN didn’t pick up any first place votes, but were selected to finish above LBSU in fourth place with 100 total points.
The panel also selected junior guard Raven Benton as part of a six-player preseason all-conference team.
Benton averaged 11.5 points per game in 24 appearances for LBSU in 2014-15. She also shot 40.5 percent from the field and five rebounds per game before missing the last eight games of the season through injury. The Tacoma native earned second-team All-Big West honors last season.
The 49ers start their season on Nov. 13 against San Diego State at the Walter Pyramid.