EVANSVILLE, Ind.- SIUE women's basketball has been picked to finish sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference and senior guard Mikayla Kinnard earned preseason All-OVC honors. The announcement was made at the league's media day on Tuesday.

Voting was conducted by the conference's head coaches and sports information personnel.

Kinnard is one of 12 players selected to the preseason All-OVC team. The second-ranked scorer in the Cougar lineup last season, Kinnard averaged 12.7 points per game. She also led SIUE in assists (97) and was second in offensive rebounds (54).

"It's a really great honor for Mikayla. She definitely deserves it," said head coach Samantha Quigley Smith. "Being an experienced college basketball player in our program, she understands the culture, tempo, and style of play that we're all about. We're in a great position with her leadership."

The preseason poll, also released Tuesday, has Tennessee Tech selected as regular season champions. The Golden Eagles picked up 147 points total points and 11 of the league's first place votes. UT Martin (2nd, four), Little Rock (3rd, four) and Tennessee State (5th, one) also received first place votes. SIUE received 83 points and is selected to finish sixth.

"The realignment of the league shows how strong this conference is," said Smith. "While we might not always love the first rankings, the ones that truly matter are at the end of the season."

SIUE earned its first postseason victory in the OVC tournament since 2018 last season with a win over UT Martin before falling to Murray State in the quarterfinal game. The Cougars finished the 2021-22 season 13-18 overall and 8-10 in conference play.

"I'm excited for this team to come together," added Smith. "There's a lot of new faces with nine players. This group understands that playing together as a team will be pivotal for our success. We're excited to get our uniforms on and start playing again."

SIUE will host Missouri S&T in an exhibition game on Sunday, Nov. 6, at 1:00 p.m before opening the regular season on Friday, Nov. 11 at 7:30 p.m. on the road against Saint Louis.