Following a 20-win season and a finish in the Women’s National Invitation Tournament semifinal, the team’s first postseason appearance since 2012, the Owls have gained respect among the coaches in the American Athletic Conference in their third year.
This season, the Owls were picked third in The American’s coaches preseason poll behind Connecticut, the No. 1 team in the AP Top 25 Poll and defending NCAA Tournament champion, and No. 20 South Florida.
“It’s a credit to the work that we did last year,” coach Tonya Cardoza said. “But we can’t take that as where we’re going to finish.