The GW women’s basketball team is expected to finish eighth in the 14-team Atlantic 10 conference, according to a poll of the conference’s head coaches released today.

The Colonials went 17-14 overall and 9-5 in the A-10 last year during head coach Mike Bozeman’s first year at the helm of the program. Entering as the league’s fifth seed, they were upset in the first round of the conference postseason tournament by Rhode Island. GW then lost in double-overtime at Florida Gulf Coast in the first round of the WNIT.

This year’s team will feature one of the youngest rosters in the nation, with the team’s lone upperclassman – redshirt junior Ivy Abiona – expected to be sidelined until at least January after undergoing knee surgery this July. Sophomores Tiana Myers and Tara Booker are the team’s top returning scorers and will be joined by a freshman class that ESPN ranked as the best in the A-10 and 42nd-best in the country.

Xavier was tabbed as the favorite to win the conference, garnering 12 of 14 first-place votes. Dayton and Richmond, which were tied for third in the poll, also each received a first-place vote. Charlotte was predicted to finish second.

The Colonials’ opening tip will come Nov. 17 at North Texas. Their first home game will be Nov. 19 against Coppin State at 7 p.m.