By Colbi Howser, Communications and Sports Information Intern
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Morningside (Iowa.) moves back to the No. 1 position in the fourth edition of the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The fifth regular-season installment will be released Jan. 19.
Top 25 Highlights (historical information dated back to 1991):
• After a 2-0 week, Morningside (Iowa) regains the top position receiving all 11 first place votes and a total of 281 points. The last two weeks the Mustangs have been ranked second behind Saint Xavier (Ill.)
• In the NAIA Game of the Week, previous No. 7 St. Francis (Ill.) took down then No. 1 Saint Xavier (Ill.) in a conference showdown that ended in the Fighting Saints coming back from a double-digit deficit to defeat the Cougars 73-61.
• The win against Saint Xavier moved St. Francis into a tie for second place in the Top 25 Poll.
• With a solid 2-0 week, No. 25 Friends (Kan.) sees Top 25 action after not being ranked since Feb. 3 of last season.
• Other newcomers include: No. 23 Indiana Wesleyan and No. 21 Goshen (Ind.).
• No. 13 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) falls four rankings after a one-point loss to No. 16 Purdue Calumet (Ind.) (54-53) on Jan. 9.
• No. 10 Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) continues its tear through the season averaging 110.8 points per game ranking them No. 1 in offensive points per game. The Tigers moved up four spots in this week’s poll.
• No. 8 Southern Oregon is the only undefeated team (15-0).
• The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) and Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) leads all leagues with five teams represented each.
• No. 11 Indiana Wesleyan (14-2) has the most No. 1 rankings in NAIA history with 33. Morningside is second with 25.
• Morningside holds the active streak of being ranked in the Top 25 (118). College of the Ozarks (Mo.) streak of 111-straight is second.
• College of the Ozarks (Mo.) (2007-08), Morningside (2008-09) and Saint Francis (Ind.) (1999-00) are the only teams to go the entire season ranked No. 1.
Poll Methodology
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the Association of Independent Institutions.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
• For the complete Top 25 calendar, click here.
2015-16 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll (Jan. 12)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK^ |
SCHOOL |
WON |
LOST |
FINAL POINTS |
| 1 |
2 |
Morningside (Iowa) (11) |
16 |
1 |
281 |
| 2 |
7 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
16 |
1 |
261 |
| 2 |
1 |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
18 |
1 |
261 |
| 4 |
3 |
Marian (Ind.) |
15 |
3 |
258 |
| 5 |
6 |
Davenport (Mich.) |
14 |
3 |
242 |
| 6 |
5 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
15 |
2 |
239 |
| 7 |
4 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
14 |
3 |
226 |
| 8 |
12 |
Southern Oregon |
15 |
0 |
212 |
| 9 |
10 |
Concordia (Neb.) |
12 |
4 |
204 |
| 10 |
14 |
Olivet Nazarene |
14 |
3 |
200 |
| 11 |
8 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
15 |
3 |
196 |
| 12 |
13 |
Jamestown (N.D.) |
16 |
4 |
185 |
| 13 |
9 |
Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) |
14 |
4 |
173 |
| 14 |
15 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
13 |
4 |
164 |
| 15 |
11 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
12 |
5 |
153 |
| 16 |
16 |
Purdue Calumet (Ind.) |
14 |
4 |
152 |
| 17 |
18 |
Haskell (Kan.) |
14 |
3 |
130 |
| 18 |
21 |
Dickinson State (N.D.) |
13 |
4 |
123 |
| 19 |
20 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
12 |
6 |
112 |
| 20 |
22 |
Lawrence Tech (MI) |
12 |
1 |
102 |
| 21 |
RV |
Goshen (Ind.) |
13 |
5 |
87 |
| 22 |
19 |
Huntington (Ind.) |
12 |
6 |
70 |
| 23 |
RV |
Indiana Northwest |
13 |
5 |
63 |
| 24 |
25 |
Milligan (Tenn.) |
14 |
4 |
60 |
| 25 |
RV |
Friends (Kan.) |
13 |
6 |
54 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Warner Pacific (Ore.) and Kansas Wesleyan
Receiving Votes: Warner Pacific (Ore.) 48, Kansas Wesleyan 41, Southeastern (Fla.) 38, Northwestern (Iowa) 36, St. Ambrose (Iowa) 28, Point (Ga.) 25,
Oregon Tech 16, Bryan (Tenn.) 13, Mayville State (N.D.) 9