(Editor's note: Big Sky Conference media release)
FARMINGTON, Utah – Northern Arizona’s Khiarica Rasheed has been named the 2020-21 Big Sky Conference preseason MVP by the league’s coaches and media members. A total of six student-athletes from five institutions made the preseason all-conference team.
Gina Marxen and Beyonce Bea (Idaho), Darian White (Montana State), Dora Goles (Idaho State), and Alisha Davis (Northern Colorado) all joined Rasheed on the preseason team.
Rasheed enters her senior season as the conference’s returning leading scorer from a year ago. The 2019-20 all-conference first-team selection finished the year second in scoring in the Big Sky with an average of 16.5 points per game. She also eclipsed the 1,000 career-point mark last season and became the 18th player in NAU history to accomplish this.
Rasheed also finished last season second in field goal percentage and sixth in rebounding as she helped NAU to its eighth semifinal berth in school history at the Big Sky Tournament and its first since the 2006-07 season.
The Idaho duo of Marxen and Bea join Rasheed on the preseason all-conference team.
Marxen returns for her junior year after a sophomore campaign that saw her earn Big Sky first-team honors. The point guard from Sammamish, Wash., averaged 13.3 points and 4.5 assists per game in 2019-20 for the Vandals and was ranked sixth and fifth, respectively.
Bea earned third-team all-Big Sky honors last year and finished with a 12.6 point scoring average to finish fifth in the conference. The hybrid guard/post player also finished the season with 5.8 rebounds and 0.8 blocks per game a year ago.
White begins her sophomore campaign after a stellar rookie season that saw her named the Big Sky freshman of the year in 2019-20. White averaged 12.7 points per game for the Bobcats to finish last year ninth in that category. She was also second in steals with 2.5 takeaways and 10th in assists with 3.4 per game.
Goles returns to lead the Bengals after finishing the 2019-20 season with 12.7 points, 3.1 assists, and 2.1 steals per game during her junior season. Goles was fourth in the conference in steals per game and earned second-team all-conference honors a season ago.
Davis rounds out the preseason all-conference list after a strong showing during her freshman campaign. Davis was a Big Sky honorable mention a year ago and finished the season as a team leader with 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
The 2020-21 season will get under way on Nov. 25 and will feature a 20-game conference schedule that will begin on Dec. 3 and will finish with the Big Sky Basketball Tournament on March 8-13 at Idaho Central Arena in Boise, Idaho
The 2020-21 Big Sky women’s basketball preseason polls will be announced Wednesday at 10 a.m.
Big Sky Basketball Digital Media Day will also occur this week, with the event getting under way at 10 a.m. Thursday and can be seen on Pluto TV Ch. 752
2020-21 Big Sky Women’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team
| Name | Position | Class | School | Hometown |
| Khiarica Rasheed | Forward | Senior | Northern Arizona | Portland, Ore. |
| Gina Marxen | Guard | Junior | Idaho | Sammamish, Wash. |
| Darian White | Guard | Sophomore | Montana State | Boise, Idaho |
| Beyonce Bea | Guard/Forward | Sophomore | Idaho | Washougal, Wash. |
| Dora Goles | Guard | Senior | Idaho State | Split, Croatia |
| Alisha Davis | Forward | Sophomore | Northern Colorado | Aurora, Colo. |
