VALDOSTA, Ga. - The Valdosta State women's basketball team has been predicted as the top finisher in the Gulf South Conference, as announced by the GSC office on Thursday following a recent poll of head coaches throughout the league.

Excitement abounds for the Lady Blazers this season, as the team looks to defend their 2017 GSC Championship. Under the new leadership of Head Coach Carley Kuhns last year, Valdosta State earned the program's first title since 1984, despite being predicted to finish ninth in last year's preseason poll. This year, coaches have a new outlook on the formidability of the Lady Blazers, as shown in this year's voting results, which resulted in six first place votes and 156 points.

"There's a lot of excitement around our program based on how we finished last year and the fact that we have several returners coming back this year," said Kuhns on Thursday. "On the other hand, we know we can't base anything we do this year off of our success last year. There is a different dynamic to our team this year with a lot of new faces, and anything we achieve this season will be something that we have to earn. This first place prediction is a huge compliment. We are taking it as that, but we are also moving on."

Other teams recognized with first place votes in the poll were West Florida in second place with 154 votes, Lee in third place with 152 votes, and Union in fourth place with 128 votes. 

Point totals were gathered by voting conducted by head coaches throughout the GSC. A first place vote was worth 13 points, a second place vote was worth 12 points, and so forth. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own teams in the poll.

In terms of individual honorees, Valdosta State was well represented. Unsurprisingly, Kenya Samone' Dixon and Madi Mitchell both made the cut as two of five student-athletes to earn Preseason All-GSC recognition. The duo played a huge role in last season's success, and each claimed both All-South Region and All-GSC honors toward the conclusion of their junior campaigns.

"The recognition is well-deserved for both of them," added Kuhns in reference for her returning seniors. "They earned several honors last year, and I had a feeling that would roll into this year. Bringing two seniors back with a year of experience under our different coaching style and level of expectation will be a big boost for us. Kenya and Madi have both taken on leadership roles with this team and I think they both know what they want out of their teammates this year. I couldn't be more excited for those two."

Samone' Dixon, a senior forward out of Baton Rouge, La., notched First Team All-GSC and Second Team All-South Region honors last year as one of the nation's top ranked long distance shooters. She led the GSC and placed 17th in NCAA Division II in three-point field goal percentage at 41.7 percent (78-of-187), and ranked among the league's top ten in both scoring (14.9 ppg / 8th) and rebounding (8.6 rpg / 7th).

Mitchell established herself as one of the top players in the conference last season and earned tournament MVP honors for her stellar performance in the 2017 Gulf South Conference tournament. The Warwick, Ga. native was named First Team All-GSC and First Team All-Region after finishing as one of the league's top five scorers with an average of 16.6 points scored per game. In addition, she ranked eighth in the conference in rebounding with an average of 8.5 per game, which led to 13 double-doubles on the year. Mitchell's season culminated with an honorable mention WBCA All-American honor.

Among the list of top newcomers throughout the conference, freshman Kayla Bonilla and senior transfer Taylor Buie made the cut. Bonilla is a point guard out of Shaw High School, and Buie is an All-American transfer from Nova Southeastern.

The Blazers will begin their official practice schedule this Sunday, with all eyes set on the home opener against Fort Valley State on November 10th. The contest will be part of the GSC/SIAC Regional Challenge, which will be played throughout the weekend at The Complex and will also feature Albany State and West Florida.