Rock Hill, S.C. — The Catawba College women's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the South Atlantic Conference women's basketball preseason coaches poll, the league office announced Thursday morning. Bailee Goodlett and Mary Spry were named Players to Watch.
 
The Catawba Indians earned 85 points in the poll, behind Coker (129), Carson-Newman (117), Wingate (107), Anderson (106) and Lenoir-Rhyne (89), who consisted of the top five. Behind Catawba was Lincoln Memorial in seventh, followed by UVA Wise, Newberry, Tusculum, Emory & Henry and Mars Hill.
 
Catawba is coming off of a 2024-25 season in which they finished 17-12 overall and 15-9 in SAC play, good for a fifth-place finish in the league. The Catawba Indians graduated their lone selection to the All-SAC team in first-teamer Janiya Foskey.
 
Spry, a senior from Faith, N.C., was named a Player to Watch after averaging a career-high 8.3 points per game in 2024-25 on over 50 percent shooting from the field for the second consecutive season along with three rebounds a game. A key reserve for three seasons with the Catawba Indians (80 career games played, 1 career start), Spry aims to be a more focal part as one of just two seniors on Catawba's roster this season.
 
Goodlett, a sophomore from Salisbury, enters her second year with the Catawba Indians after a successful freshman season in which she was named to the All-SAC Freshman team. The North Rowan graduate started in each of her 29 games played, averaging nearly nine points a contest with over two assists and nearly a steal per outing.
 
Catawba opens its season with the Columbus Region Crossover on November 14-15, starting with a matchup with Lees-McRae in Columbus on Friday, Nov. 14 at 7:30 p.m. After six games away from home to begin the season, the Catawba Indians make their home debut on Wednesday, Dec. 3 versus Shorter.