Feb. 11—MITCHELL — For the third set of rankings in a row, the Dakota Wesleyan University women’s basketball team is ranked at No. 9 in the NAIA coaches’ top-25 poll, which was issued Wednesday.
DWU is 20-4 on the season and has won 14 games in a row. Aside from a few teams trading spots ahead of them, the top-nine teams in NAIA women’s basketball remained the same as the Jan. 28 set of rankings.
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Fellow Great Plains Athletic Conference squad Dordt remains the No. 1-ranked team in NAIA women’s basketball with a 23-1 record. It means DWU will host the No. 1 Defenders on Feb. 18 in the Tigers’ next home game at the Corn Palace.
The rest of the top-five includes Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) at No. 2, Bethel (Tenn.) at No. 3, Marian (Ind.) moving up to No. 4 and trading spots with new No. 5 Campbellsville (Ky.). No. 11-ranked Concordia is the only other GPAC ranked team, while Briar Cliff dropped out of the top-25 and is joined by Hastings in the receiving votes group.
Entering Wednesday, DWU is tied for the fourth-longest active win streak in NAIA women’s basketball. LSU Shreveport, which is unranked, is 22-2 and has an 18-game win streak, while 19th-ranked Loyola (La.) has won 16 in a row and Dordt is 23-1 and has a 15-game win streak.
DWU is next in action at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at Waldorf in Forest City, Iowa, and then will play at Mount Marty on Saturday, Feb. 14.
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In the men’s NAIA top-25 poll, Freed-Hardeman is ranked No. 1, taking No. 2 Grace’s (Ind.) spot at the top. Indiana Wesleyan, Ave Maria (Fla.) and Oklahoma Wesleyan round out the top-five slots. GPAC leader Morningside moved into the top-25 poll at No. 21, while Northwestern is atop the receiving votes pile.
There will be one more set of top-25 polls issued on Feb. 25 for NAIA basketball. The opening-round sites for the NAIA tournament will be announced March 2, and the 64 national tournament qualifiers will be announced on Thursday, March 5.
NAIA women’s basketball coaches’ top-25 poll (Feb. 11)
1, Dordt (Iowa), 23-1, 533; 2, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), 22-2, 516; 3, Bethel (Tenn.), 22-3, 508; 4, Marian (Ind.), 22-2, 459; 5, Campbellsville (Ky.), 20-4, 448; 6, Dakota State (S.D.), 21-3, 428; 7, Saint Francis (Ind.), 22-2, 427; 8, Rio Grande (Ohio), 23-1, 406; 9, Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.), 20-4, 387; 10, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.), 19-3, 319; 11, Concordia (Neb.), 19-5, 316; 12, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), 18-6, 308; 13, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), 20-4, 306; 14, Eastern Oregon, 21-3, 265; 15, Evangel (Mo.), 20-2, 241; 16, Spring Arbor (Mich.), 20-4, 220; 17, Montana Tech, 18-4, 219; 18, William Carey (Miss.), 20-2, 165; 19, Loyola (La.), 20-2, 164; 20, Langston (Okla.), 22-2, 134; 21, Cumberlands (Ky.), 17-8, 131; 22, Friends (Kan.), 20-4, 121; 23, Rocky Mountain (Mont.), 16-8, 103; 24, Indiana Tech, 20-4, 80; 25, Carroll (Mont.), 16-8, 75.
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NAIA men’s basketball coaches’ top-25 poll (Feb. 11)
1, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), 24-1, 510; 2, Grace (Ind.), 22-2, 489; 3, Indiana Wesleyan, 21-3, 462; 4, Ave Maria (Fla.), 22-2, 453; 5, Oklahoma Wesleyan, 21-3, 452; T-6, Hope International (Calif.), 20-4, 383; T-6, Nelson (Texas), 20-4, 383; 8, Langston (Okla.), 19-5, 377; 9, Keiser (Fla.), 20-3, 362; 10, Pikeville (Ky.), 20-3, 351; T-11, Bethel (Ind.), 20-4, 322; T-11, Rocky Mountain (Mont.), 21-3, 322; 13, LSU Shreveport (La.), 19-4, 319; 14, Arizona Christian, 18-6, 226; 15, Georgetown (Ky.), 19-6, 215; 16, Friends (Kan.), 19-5, 212; 17, Cumberlands (Ky.), 19-6, 207; 18, Columbia (Mo.), 21-3, 200; 19, Huntington (Ind.), 18-6, 167; 20, William Carey (Miss.), 22-2, 156; 21, Morningside (Iowa), 19-5, 151; 22, Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), 19-5, 148; 23, Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.), 21-4, 107; 24, Shawnee State (Ohio), 20-4, 99; 25, Graceland (Iowa), 20-4, 89.
