EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Ohio Valley Conference held its annual men's and women's basketball media day today at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. Eastern Illinois was selected to finish 11^th in the women's basketball preseason poll released this morning.
 
The Panthers finished 9-19 overall for the 2016-17 season and 5-11 in the conference. EIU returns two starters and adds seven new players to the roster under new head coach Matt Bollant.
 
Senior guard Grace Lennox returns to the Panthers as a key starter for the 2017-18 season. Lennox was selected to the All-OVC team for the 2016-17 season and is on the 2017-18 Pre-Season All-OVC Team. Last season, Lennox led the OVC with 38.2 minutes played per game. She was fourth in the OVC averaging 16.3 points, 4.4 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. Lennox set a career high 35 points scored at Eastern Kentucky last season, and she earned her first career double-double at UT Martin with 25 points and 10 rebounds.
 
EIU welcomes back Jalisha Smith as a top returner. She started in all nine games she played before being sidelined with a season ending injury. Smith averaged 10.3 points and 6.9 rebounds over her nine games. She set career highs in points and rebounds against Florida A&M with 19 points and 17 rebounds earning her first career double-double.
 
Danielle Berry, Zharia Lenoir, Jennifer Nehls, Halle Stull, and Carmen Tellez all return for the Panthers. Seven new players also join this season's roster. Karle Pace, Taylor Steele, and Katrina Christian join us from the states. Lana Marov and Grace McRae come from Australia while Camino Tellez joins from Madrid, Spain.
 
The team is coached this year by Matt Bollant who joins EIU following a five year stint at the University of Illinois. He is assisted by Cleve Wright, Kyley Simmons, and Alex Guyton.
 
EIU will host Rose-Hulman on Nov. 6 for their only exhibition game this year. The regular season tips off on Nov. 10 when the Panthers host visiting Northern Illinois at 6 p.m. Season, single game, and group tickets are now available by calling 217-581-2106.