KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Thanks to a 78-56 win over then-No. 8 Lewis-Clark State College on Saturday night, the Westminster College women's basketball team moved up two positions to No. 16 in this week's NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Monday.
Westminster is now 18-7 overall this season and they lead the Frontier Conference with an 11-1 record. They Griffins received 164 points in the poll to move up from the No. 18 position they held for the previous two weeks. This marks the seventh consecutive poll the Griffins have been ranked in this season and the 61st consecutive poll they have received votes.
Lewis-Clark State dropped from eighth to 13th after Saturday's loss to the Griffins. They are the only other Frontier Conference team inside the Top 25. Westminster's Thursday opponent, Montana State-Northern, is the only other team from the conference receiving votes in the current poll.
Oklahoma City, Union (Tenn.), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) and Lee (Tenn.) remain as the top four teams in the poll. The Stars claimed the top spot for the fourth-consecutive week – seventh week overall – following a 2-0 week that included victories against Rogers State (Okla.), 61-50, on Feb. 16 and at John Brown (Ark.), 56-41, on Feb. 18. Oklahoma City received all 12 first-place votes and 312 points.
For the second week in a row, Union (Tenn.) took home the No. 2 spot with 302 points, while No. 3 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) (292 points) and No. 4 Lee (Tenn.) (282 points) rounded out the top four.
The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conference and unaffiliated groups. The next Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll will be announced on Feb. 27.