KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Northeastern State is picked ninth in the MIAA Preseason Women's Basketball Coaches and tenth in its Media Poll, which was released Tuesday morning before the Association's Media Day event at the College Basketball Experience. 

The RiverHawks finished the 2023-24 season with a 14-15 record in their first season under head coach Keith Ferguson.  Northeastern State made an eight-win improvement and qualified for the MIAA postseason for the first time since 2018.

In the coaches' poll, Pittsburg State is the preseason favorite, receiving ten first-place votes for a total of 165 points.  Fort Hays State was second with 152 points and Northwest Missouri was third with 142, both teams garnered a pair of first-place votes. 

Missouri Southern, Central Missouri, Nebraska-Kearney, Missouri Western, and Emporia State were four through eight in the poll.  Washburn, Central Oklahoma, Arkansas Fort Smith, Rogers State, and Newman rounded out the coaches poll.

The media tagged the same top two teams as the coaches in their poll but in inversed order.  Fort Hays State was selected first with the top six teams getting a first-place vote.  Pittsburg State, Northwest Missouri, Missouri Southern, and Missouri Western are the rest of the top five.  Central Missouri, Emporia State, Nebraska-Kearney, and Washburn were ahead of NSU.  The bottom four in the poll were Central Oklahoma, Arkansas-Fort Smith, Rogers State, and Newman. 

The RiverHawks open their season on Oct. 18, facing the University of Arkansas at 5 p.m. for an exhibition game in Fayetteville. 

2024-25 MIAA WOMEN'S PRESEASON COACHES POLL
1. Pittsburg State [10] – 164 points
2. Fort Hays State [2] – 152 points
3. Northwest Missouri [2] – 142 points
4. Missouri Southern – 137 points
5. Central Missouri – 124 points
6. Nebraska Kearney – 97 points
7. Missouri Western – 89 points
8. Emporia State – 86 points
9. Northeastern State – 80 points
10. Washburn – 68 points
11. Central Oklahoma – 50 points
12. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 39 points
13. Rogers State – 29 points
14. Newman – 17 points
[#] - Number of First-Place Votes

2024-25 MIAA WOMEN'S PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
1. Fort Hays State [9] – 246 points
2. Pittsburg State [5] – 231 points
3. Northwest Missouri [1] – 225 points
4. Missouri Southern [1] – 206 points
5. Missouri Western [2] – 192 points
6. Central Missouri [1] – 174 points
7. Emporia State – 139 points
8. Nebraska Kearney – 129 points
9. Washburn – 107 points
10. Northeastern State – 101 points
11. Central Oklahoma – 84 points
12. Arkansas-Fort Smith – 74 points
13. Rogers State – 66 points 
14. Newman – 21 points 
[#] - Number of First-Place Votes