RUSTON - Louisiana Tech is ranked No. 9 in the preseason Top 10 poll released by Gballmg.com Wednesday.

Head coach Kurt Budke's squad earned the top 10 ranking after a 31-3 season that saw the Lady Techsters win both the Western Athletic Conference regular season and tournament championships and advance to the program's 22nd straight NCAA Tournament.

"Louisiana Tech ran the table in the Western Athletic Conference for the second straight year," said the website. "The Lady Techsters return four starters from last year's outstanding club, although leading scorer and rebounder, Trina Frierson, will miss the first four weeks of practice while recovering from surgery."

The website picked Connecticut No. 1 followed by Duke, Texas, Kansas State, Tennessee, Stanford, Penn State, Texas Tech, Louisiana Tech and Purdue.