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LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Slippery Rock University's women's basketball team was picked to finish seventh in a preseason poll of Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference-Western Division head coaches released Thursday as part of the conference's media day event.

California (Pa.) received four first-place votes to earn the "team to beat" label for this winter's competition, followed in order by Indiana (Pa.), which received two first-place votes, and Gannon and Edinboro, which each received one first-place vote.

Mercyhurst was the No. 5 team in the poll, followed by Clarion, The Rock and Lock Haven.

First-year Rock head coach Tanya Longo will build her 2010-11 team around two returning starters, senior guard Grace Palucis (#15) and sophomore guard Bethany Caudill (#12). Three top substitutes (guard Alex Beatty and post players Tynesha Lee and Emilee Vitez also return from last year's squad.

Caudill and Palucis were the No. 4 and No. 5 scorers, respectively, on last winter's Rock squad with per-game averages of 7.6 and 6.1 points.

Vitez chipped in 4.1 points and 4.3 rebounds (#2 on the teeam) per game, Beatty averaged 4.0 points per game and Lee averaged 2.7 points and 2.8 rebounds.

Longo, who was hired in May to replace Laurel Heilman as The Rock's head coach, added four junior-college players and four freshmen in a short time on the recruiting trail. Click here to view the complete 2010-11 Rock roster.

The Rock unofficially tips off its 2010-11 season Wednesday, Nov. 3, with a 7 p.m. exhibition game against NCAA Division I Cleveland State at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

The official opening game of the season will be a Nov. 15 date with Tiffin University in Morrow Field House on the SRU campus. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. Click here to view the complete 2010-11 Rock schedule.

The preseason PSAC polls and all-star teams are as follows (first-place votes in parentheses):

Western Division preseason poll
1. California (4)
2. Indiana (2)
3. Gannon (1)
4. Edinboro (1)
5. Mercyhurst
6. Clarion
7. SLIPPERY ROCK
8. Lock Haven

All-PSAC Western Division Preseason Team
Amy Achesinski, Mercyhurst; Renee' Brown, Edinboro; Lacey Claar, Indiana; Julie Kleber, Gannon; Sarah Pastorek, Indiana; Kayla Smith, California

Eastern Division preseason poll
1. Millersville (5)
2. Bloomsburg (1)
3. West Chester (1)
4. Kutztown (1)
5. Shippensburg
6. Cheyney
T7. East Stroudsburg
T7. Mansfield

Preseason All-PSAC-Eastern Division Team
Kelsey Gallagher, Bloomsburg; Kasey Gardner, Shippensburg; Melissa McQuade, Kutztown; Mallory Moore, Mansfield; Mashira Newman, Millersville; Dana Wieller, Bloomsburg