The Shippensburg University women's basketball team was picked to finish third in the PSAC Eastern Division Preseason Coaches Poll released by the conference office on Wednesday afternoon while sophomore Stephanie Knauer and senior Sarah Strybuc were named to the All-PSAC Eastern Division Preseason Team.

The top of the poll was a close vote as four different teams received multiple first-place votes yet none received more than three, with the Raiders' garnering two such votes.

Millersville sits atop the poll with two first-place votes while defending PSAC champion Bloomsburg ranks second with three such votes. Rounding out the poll following SU is West Chester, Kutztown (two first-place votes), East Stroudsburg, Lock Haven, Mansfield and Cheyney.

The Raiders are the only team to place multiple players on the six-player preseason team as Kutztown's Natalya Lee, West Chester's Brittany Sicinski, East Stroudsburg's Jessica Martin and Bloomsburg's Catherine Noack join the Raider duo.

Both players were named to the All-PSAC Eastern Division Second Team squad last season while Knauer was selected as the PSAC Eastern Division Freshman of the Year. They lead a group of just six returnees from last year's 20-win team – the program's most such wins in 11 years – that earned the Eastern Division's No. 2 seed in the playoffs.

"We're just looking forward to going out and competing," said head coach Kristy Trn '93/'94M, last year's PSAC Eastern Division Coach of the Year. "We're a very young team and although that's scary, it's also exciting. It's going to be interesting to see just how much we can come together and develop throughout this year."

Defending Western Division champion Gannon ranks atop the poll in the West with six first-place votes, followed by Edinboro with one such vote. California (Pa.) and IUP received one first-place vote each and are tied for third, followed by Seton Hill, Clarion, Mercyhurst, Pitt-Johnstown and Slippery Rock.

Shippensburg opens its season at home against Shepherd at 6 p.m. on Monday, November 11. The Raiders will then host the annual Wolf's Bus Lines Classic from Heiges Field House on the weekend of November 15-16, when it will square off against Goldey-Beacom and NYIT.

2013-14 PSAC Preseason Coaches Poll

Eastern Division
1. Millersville (2)
2. Bloomsburg (3)
3. Shippensburg (2)
4. West Chester
5. Kutztown (2)
6. East Stroudsburg
7. Lock Haven
8. Mansfield
9. Cheyney

Western Division
1. Gannon (6)
2. Edinboro (1)
T-3. California (Pa.) (1)
T-3. IUP (1)
5. Seton Hill
6. Clarion
7. Mercyhurst
8. Pitt-Johnstown
9. Slippery Rock