GORHAM, Maine – Receiving four first-place votes and 60 points, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' women's basketball team has been picked to finish first in the 2026-2027 Little East Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll. 
 
Rhode Island College was selected to finish first with five first-place votes and 61 points, narrowly edging out the Huskies' for the top spot in preseason predictions in the Little East. With just three points separating the third through fifth spots, UMass Boston is slated to finish third with 43 points followed closely by Eastern Connecticut State in fourth with 42 points.  Keene State is in fifth with 40 points. 
 
The defending 2026 Little East Conference regular season and tournament champion Huskies will be led this season by veteran associate head coach Shea Kimball as head coach David Chadbourne will miss the season with a leave of absence.  Kimball is in his fifth season on the Huskies' bench, and has been part of Southern Maine's 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 LEC Championship game appearances. 
 
Finishing last season with a 27-3 overall record, and a 15-1 mark in Little East Conference play, the Huskies claimed the program's 22nd regular-season title and 21st tournament championship.  Earning the LEC's automatic bid into the NCAA tourney, Southern Maine made its 27th overall appearance in the championship field and claimed wins over Johnson & Wales University (62-46) and an upset over No. 7 Bowdoin College on the road (67-59) to earn a trip to the NCAA Division III Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2007.
 
The Huskies have a solid group of key returning players including New England Women's Basketball Association (NEWBA) and D3Hoops.com All-Region junior guard Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) and 2026 LEC Championship Tournament Most Outstanding Player junior forward Dakota Shipley (Bath, Maine/Brunswick). Rising sophomore Izzy Morrelli (New Gloucester, Maine/Gray-New Gloucester) also returns for the Huskies after earning Maine Womens' Basketball Coaches' Association (MWBCA) All-Rookie Team honors.
 
Playing in 29 of the Huskies' 30 games as a rookie, Morelli made the most of her minutes off of the bench, recording 103 points, 45 rebounds, nine steals and seven assists.  Shooting 48.1 percent (37-for-77) from the field, Morelli's impact on the Huskies' success grew throughout the season.  Morelli recorded her first double-digit scoring game with 10 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes off of the bench on 5-for-8 shooting in Southern Maine's 62-46 win over Johnson & Wales in the first round of the NCAA Division III tournament.  Morelli set her now career-high the next game, scoring 11 points in 17 minutes in the Huskies' 67-59 win at Bowdoin College in the NCAA's second round, helping USM to its first Sweet Sixteen appearance since 2007. 
 
Averaging 11.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.7 blocked shots per game while shooting 41.8 percent (124-for-297) from the field, and 32.3 percent (39-for-124) from three, Shipley was named the LEC Tournament Most Outstanding Player after finishing the tourney with 34 points, 23 rebounds, seven assists, six blocked shots and four steals over two games to average 17 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 3.0 blocks and 2.0 steals while shooting 11-for-22 from the field and 6-for-10 from three. Scoring in double-digits in 17 games last season, Shipley has 599 points, 394 rebounds, 74 assists, 64 steals and 70 blocked shots in 57 career games.
 
Wiles completed an outstanding sophomore campaign earning multiple post-season honors for the Huskies after putting up career best numbers across the board. Earning first team All-Little East Conference honors in addition to her all-region honors from NEWBA and D3hoops.com, Wiles averaged 16.7 points, 3.0 assists, 1.8 steals and 2.8 rebounds per game, and shot an outstanding 44.5 percent (188-for-422) from the field, and 42.4 percent (59-for-139) from three-point range. Scoring in double-figures in 25 games in 2025-2026, Wiles reached at least 20 points in nine games and scored a career-high 32 points in a 75-50 LEC win at UMass Dartmouth. Through 58 career games, Wiles has 867 points, 162 rebounds, 170 assists, and 98 steals.
 
 
The Huskies start their 2026-2027 on Friday, November 6 (5:30 pm) at University of New England.  Southern Maine's first Little East Conference game is a home contest versus UMass Boston on Wednesday, December 2 (5:30 pm). 
 

2026-2027 Little East Conference Women's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (FPV)
Position	Team	Points	First Place Votes
1.	Rhode Island College	61 points	5
2.	Southern Maine	60 points	4
3.	UMass Boston	43 points
4.	Eastern Connecticut	42 points
5.	Keene State	40 points
6.	Western Connecticut	28 points
7.	UMass Dartmouth	25 points
8.	Plymouth State	17 points
9.	VTSU Castleton	8 points

 
 
 
 
 
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