Hampton Lady Pirates picked as MEAC top team
Coppin State's Keisha Brooks Selected as Top Women's Pre-Season Player

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Last year's women's tournament champion, Hampton University, has been picked to win the regular season this year. The Lady Pirates finished fourth in the MEAC last year with a record of 11-7. They won the MEAC Tournament and represented the conference in NCAA Tournament. Howard University was chosen as the second-placed team, the Lady Bison finished the regular season last year with a record of 16-2. Norfolk State was selected to finish in the third-placed spot. Morgan State was chosen fourth, while Coppin State was selected fifth. Rounding out the predicted order is; Bethune-Cookman sixth; Florida A&M seventh; Delaware State eighth; North Carolina A&T ninth; South Carolina State tenth and Maryland Eastern Shore eleventh.

Coppin State College forward Keisha Brooks has been selected as the 2000-2001 Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Pre-Season women's Player of the Year and heads the All-MEAC pre-season First Team, as voted on by conference head coaches and sports information directors. Brooks, last years MEAC Player of the Year, averaged 20.0 points, which placed her at 20th in the nation, and 10.3 points per game last year.

Joining her in the frontcourt will be 6'3" center Malveata Johnson from North Carolina A&T State University. Johnson led the nation in rebounding last year with an average of 13.4 per game. She also finished third in the nation in blocked shots (3.0 per game) and twenty-fifth in scoring (19.4 per game). Johnson was the 1998-99 MEAC women's Player of the Year.

Andrea Gardner a 6'3" forward from Howard University is the other frontcourt player on pre-season team. Gardner averaged 11.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game last year.

In the backcourt, Exzavia Cunningham of Bethune-Cookman College and Shakira Smith of Morgan State University were voted to the first-team.

Cunningham, a 5'7" guard and last years MEAC Rookie of the Year, averaged 18.4 points per game. Smith, a 5'10" guard averaged 16.4 points per game and led the nation in steals with an average of 4.3 per game.

The second team consists of guards LaShondra Dixon (Hampton) and Akita Heatly (FAMU). While Courtney Kirk (Howard), Lineni Noa (Hampton) and Suawana Taylor (Norfolk St.) round out the backcourt.

MEAC WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRE-SEASON
2000-2001 FIRST & SECOND TEAM

First-Team

Name	School	Pos.	Ht.	Cl.	Hometown	1999-00Avg's
*Exzavia Cunninghan	B-CC	G	5-7	So.	West Palm Beach, FL	18.4 ppg
Shakira Smith	Morgan St.	G	5-10	Sr.	Ft. Washington, MD	16.4 ppg / 4.3 spg
*Malveata Johnson	NCA&T	C	6-3	Sr.	Dover, NC	19.4 ppg / 13.4 rpg / 3.0 bpg
*^Keisha Brooks	Coppin St.	F	5-10	Sr.	Olney, MD	20.0 ppg / 10.3 rpg
Andrea Gardner	Howard	F	6-3	Jr.	Washington, DC	11.2 ppg / 11/3 rpg

Second-TeamSECOND TEAM

Name	School	Pos.	Ht.	Cl.	Hometown	1999-00Avg's
LaShondra Dixon	Hampton	G	5-5	So.	Sparta, GA	14.3 ppg / 3.7 rpg
Akita Heatly	FAMU	G	5-7	Jr.	St. Petersburg, FL	8.8 ppg / 4.6 rpg
Courtney Kirk	Howard	F	6-1	Jr.	Fairfield, AL	8.1 ppg / 5.1 rpg
Lineni Noa	Hampton	F	5-7	Sr.	Sacramento, CA	8.8 ppg / 3.0 rpg
Suawana Taylor	Norfolk St.	F	6-1	Sr.	Virginia Beach, VA	12.2 ppg / 7.0 rpg

*1999-00 All-MEAC First Team
^1999-00 MEAC Player of the Year

2000-2001 Pre-Season Prediction	1999-2000 Regular Season Finish
1. Hampton	1. Howard+
2. Howard	2. Norfolk St.
3. Norfolk State	3. Morgan St.
4. Morgan State	4. Hampton$
5. Coppin St.	5. Coppin St.
6. Bethune-Cookman	6. Bethune-Cookman
7. Florida A&M	7. Florida A&M
8. Delaware State	8. Delaware St.
9. North Carolina A&T	9. Maryland Eastern Shore
10. South Carolina State	10. S.C. State
11. Maryland Eastern Shore	11. NCA&T

+Regular Season Champion
$MEAC Tournament winner

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