1. Hughes

• POLL POINTS: 38 (five first-place votes from league coaches)

        • COACH: Anita Burke (seventh season, record N/A)

        • LAST YEAR: 15-6 (13-1, 1st, QCC)

        • KEY PLAYERS: G Nekeala Richardson, C Sidney Johnson

        • OUTLOOK: A youthful Big Red team matured quickly enough behind senior center Leslie Burns last season to capture the Queen City Conference championship before being upset by Glen Este in the first round of the Division I tournament.

        Burns led Hughes in scoring and rebounding before moving on to Dayton, but coach Anita Burke may have come up with players capable of filling her shoes in 5-5 junior guard Nekeala Richardson, a transfer from Withrow, and 5-11 center Sidney Johnson, who's coming off an anterior cruciate ligament injury in her knee. Richardson averaged 12.3 points per game for Withrow.

        Hughes is still young. The only senior is 5-8 forward Pam Watts.

        2. Withrow

        • POLL POINTS: 34

        • No information was provided by the school

        3. Western Hills

        • POLL POINTS: 25

        • COACH: Kim Leahy (11th season, 87-123)

        • LAST YEAR: 10-11 (9-5, tied 3rd, QCC)

        • KEY PLAYERS: G Renay Tolliver; F Darnise Edwards

        • OUTLOOK: Edwards, a 5-foot-10 senior, averaged 9.5 points and 6.2 rebounds last season and is a big reason the Mustangs expect to get more points in the paint this season than in past ones.

        Tolliver averaged 8 points and shot 29 percent from 3-point range. No information was provided by the school. Leahy wants her team to play aggressive, tenacious defense.

        4. Walnut Hills

• POLL POINTS: 24

        • COACH: Bryan Cooley (first season)

        • LAST YEAR: 11-10 (10-4, tied for second, QCC)

        • KEY PLAYERS: F Katie LaJeunesse, G Tamara Fennell

        OUTLOOK: Decent perimeter shooting and a lack of size will make coach Bryan Cooley's first Lady Eagles team an outside-oriented group.

        Senior Katie LaJeunesse, a 5-10 forward, is Walnut Hills's top returning scorer. Tamara Fennell, a 5-2 guard, is the only other senior. She and 5-6 junior Christy Marsh teamed up to provide an average of 11 points per game from the backcourt.

        “We have three freshmen with no varsity experience, but they are solid players,” Cooley said.

        5. Mount Healthy

        • POLL POINTS: 23

        • COACH: Lori Miller (third season, 22-20, 22-20)

        • LAST YEAR: 11-10 (10-4, tied for second, QCC)

        • KEY PLAYER: F Tanisha Johnson

        • OUTLOOK: Tanisha Johnson, a forward-center, is one of just three seniors on the Fighting Owls roster. Guards Candi Hart and Stacey Leahy are the other two, which means Miller is dealing with inexperience for the second consecutive season. Last year's roster had just seven players; this year, there are 11.

        “We were young and inexperienced and not deep last season,” Miller said. “We were inconsistent and lost a few games we probably should have won.”

        Miller is hoping her youthful team can build some confidence with an opening-game win at Northwest Tuesday.

        6. Taft

        • POLL POINTS: 21

        • COACH: Rhonda Craig

        • LAST YEAR: 4-17 (3-11, 7th, QCC).

        • KEY PLAYERS: N/A

        • OUTLOOK: Much of the regard for the Senators stems from the presence of six seniors on the 12-player roster. Taft lost to eventual state-champion McNicholas in the first round last year's Division II tournament.

        Taft will quickly learn whether it can challenge for the QCC title. the Senators meet Hughes in the second game of the Nov.29.

        7. Woodward

        • POLL POINTS: 10

        • COACH: Dan Denno (first season)

        • LAST YEAR: N/A

        • KEY PLAYERS: G Stephanie Smith

        • OUTLOOK: New coach Denno has no returning starters to work with, and only three seniors on the roster. Size is also a problem, with no players bigger than 5-8. But the attitude and work ethic have been good, and Denno has been pleased with how his underclassmen, particularly junior Timika Ferguson and sophomore Angel Williams, have taken leadership roles.

        8. Aiken

        • POLL POINTS: 6

        • COACH: Patrick Branch (first season)

        • LAST YEAR: N/A

        • KEY PLAYERS: N/A

        • OUTLOOK: First-year coach Branch hopes to rebuild the program with defense. He has only two seniors on his roster.

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