KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Concordia (Neb.) has claimed the top spot in the 2012-13 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25, the national office announced Tuesday. Concordia collected 11-of-13 first place votes and 342 points for its first No. 1 ranking since the final poll on March 4, 2003 and its tenth overall No. 1 ranking.
Defending national champion Northwestern (Iowa) comes in at No. 2 as it tallied 328 points. Receiving the last two first-place votes was No. 3 College of the Ozarks (Mo.) with 323 points. Indiana Wesleyan comes in at No. 4 notching 314 points, while Morningside (Iowa) rounds out the top five collecting 293 points.
Five teams, who were not in the 201-12 Division II Women's Basketball Postseason Top 25 - No. 6 Saint Xavier (Ill.), No. 13 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), No. 22 Taylor (Ind.), No. 23 Saint Mary (Neb.) and No. 25 Saint Francis (Ind.)- join the poll. Saint Xavier and Olivet Nazarene were NAIA Division I members last season.
Eleven of the 13 Division II women's basketball conferences/independents/unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) with five ranked teams. Representing the GPAC is Concordia, Northwestern, Morningside, No. 8 Briar Cliff (Iowa) and No. 18 Hastings (Neb.).
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and Independents. The first regular-season poll will be announced on Nov. 27.
Notes: (All information as of the 1999 - 2000 season) Despite holding more national titles than any other school, Northwestern's (Iowa) 12 No. 1 appearances rank in a tie for fifth... Indiana Wesleyan has appeared at the top of the poll on 25 occasions, six more than Morningside (Iowa) for the most No. 1 rankings all-time ... Davenport (Mich.) and Hastings (Neb.) are tied for the next most with 13 No. 1 rankings apiece, followed by Northwestern and Saint Francis (Ind.), who both have made a dozen No. 1 appearances ... There have been 14 different teams to garner the No. 1 ranking all-time ... Three schools have spent an entire season at No. 1: Morningside in 2008-09, College of the Ozarks (Mo.) in 2007-08 and Saint Francis in 1999-2000 ... In the last 13 years, six teams that have been rated No. 1 in the preseason have gone on to win the national championship with the last being Northwestern, which has accomplished the feat the last two years.
2012-13 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll
|
RANK |
LAST TIME^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2011-12 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
|
1 |
3 |
Concordia (Neb.) (11) |
34-3 |
342 |
|
2 |
1 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
28-7 |
328 |
|
3 |
2 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) (2) |
33-4 |
323 |
|
4 |
4 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
33-3 |
314 |
|
5 |
6 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
26-9 |
293 |
|
6 |
13# |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
24-9 |
275 |
|
7 |
10 |
Concordia (Mich.) |
29-6 |
274 |
|
8 |
8 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
25-10 |
250 |
|
8 |
5 |
Grand View (Iowa) |
30-6 |
250 |
|
10 |
11 |
Eastern Oregon |
25-9 |
246 |
|
11 |
12 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
27-5 |
243 |
|
12 |
7 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
30-5 |
237 |
|
13 |
17# |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
27-5 |
214 |
|
14 |
13 |
Corban (Ore.) |
24-8 |
184 |
|
15 |
18 |
Bethel (Ind.) |
22-11 |
177 |
|
16 |
20 |
Southwestern (Kan.) |
23-9 |
171 |
|
17 |
17 |
Tennessee Wesleyan |
24-9 |
167 |
|
18 |
15 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
22-11 |
163 |
|
19 |
14 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
27-7 |
145 |
|
20 |
16 |
Friends (Kan.) |
24-10 |
129 |
|
21 |
18 |
Ave Maria (Fla.) |
29-5 |
108 |
|
22 |
NR |
Taylor (Ind.) |
18-13 |
99 |
|
23 |
RV |
Saint Mary (Neb.) |
22-11 |
96 |
|
24 |
25 |
Union (Ky.) |
25-8 |
58 |
|
25 |
22 |
College of Idaho |
22-9 |
46 |
|
25 |
RV |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
19-13 |
46 |
Others receiving votes: Valley City State (N.D.) 42; Point Park (Pa.) 41; Madonna (Mich.) 39; St. Thomas (Fla.) 38; William Penn (Iowa) 32; Cornerstone (Mich.) 20; Sterling (Kan.) 19; Purdue Calumet (Ind.) 16; Huntington (Ind.) 8; Indiana Southeast 7; Warner Pacific (Ore.) 3; Menlo (Calif.) 3; St. Ambrose (Iowa) 3.
^ Ranking indicated in 2011-12 Postseason Top 25 Poll (March 19, 2012)
# Ranking indicated from 2011-12 Division I Women’s Basketball Postseason Top 25 Poll (March 26, 2012)