CENTER VALLEY, Pa. ---- The Navy women's basketball team was predicted to place sixth in the Patriot League this season according to the league's pre-season poll of coaches and sports information contacts for the sport that was announced Wednesday.

Navy concluded the 2014-15 season in a tie for fourth place in the league with a record of 10-8. The Mids, who garnered the No. 5 seed in the league tournament, went on the road to defeat fourth-seeded Bucknell in the quarterfinal round of the event. That win made Navy the only team in the league to reached the semifinal round of the tournament in each of the last seven seasons.

Navy returns four starters and 10 letterwinners from last year's squad that attained a 17-14 record on the season. The Mids originally entered the fall of 2014 with just one returning starter and two returning letterwinners from their 2013-14 squad.

Army West Point garnered 13 first-place votes (voters were not allowed to vote for their own program) and a league-high 155 points in all in this year's pre-season ballot to emerge as the favorite to win the league. Holy Cross totaled two first-place votes and 130 points to finish second in the voting and Lehigh received three first-place nods and 127 points to place third.

Bucknell and American each received one first-place ballot, with the Bison tallying 119 points to edge last year's regular season and tournament champions for fourth place by eight points. Navy followed the Eagles in sixth place with 83 points.

Colgate finished seventh in the voting with 55 points, Loyola placed eighth with 47 points, Lafayette garnered 43 points to finish in ninth place and Boston U. tallied 30 points to place 10th.

The Mids will open their 2015-16 season on the road with games Nov. 13 at Hofstra and Nov. 15 at Saint Peter's. Navy's home slate begins with a Nov. 22 game against North Carolina A&T.

Season and single-game tickets for the upcoming Navy basketball season can be obtained through the Navy Ticket Office by either calling 1-800-US4-NAVY or by visiting the TICKETS page on NavySports.com.

Interviews with Navy head coach Stefanie Pemper discussing the upcoming season can be viewed at the following links:

Interview #1
Interview #2
Interview #3

2015-16 Women's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Army West Point, 155 points (13)
2. Holy Cross, 130 points (2)
3. Lehigh, 127 points (3)
4. Bucknell, 119 points (1)
5. American, 111 points (1)
6. Navy, 83 points
7. Colgate, 55 points
8. Loyola Maryland, 47 points
9. Lafayette, 43 points 10. Boston University, 30 points