Northwestern College moved up four spots in this week’s edition of the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ poll announced Tuesday by the national office.
Ranked 18th in the last coaches poll released on Dec. 12, Northwestern climbed to 14th in the Jan.9 rating after winning five of its last six games. The Red Raiders are 12-5 on the year and join four other GPAC teams in this week’s poll; Concordia (1), Dakota Wesleyan (8), Hastings (11) and Morningside (12).
Concordia (Neb.) took over the top spot in the first poll of the 2018 calendar year, earning 11 of the 12 possible first place votes. The Bulldogs boast a 17-0 record, one of two unbeaten teams left in NAIA Division II. Southeastern (Fla.), also unbeaten (16-0) is ranked second and earned the final first place vote. College of the Ozarks (Mo.), previous No.1 Saint Xavier (Ill.) and Marian (Ind.) round out the top five.
| RANK | LAST WEEK | SCHOOL [1ST PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 | 2 | Concordia (Neb.) [11] | 17-0 | 312 |
| 2 | 3 | Southeastern (Fla.) [1] | 16-0 | 302 |
| 3 | 4 | College of the Ozarks (Mo.) | 18-1 | 292 |
| 4 | 1 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 13-2 | 282 |
| 5 | 5 | Marian (Ind.) | 16-2 | 272 |
| 6 | 6 | Jamestown (N.D.) | 17-2 | 260 |
| 7 | 8 | Eastern Oregon | 16-2 | 254 |
| 8 | 9 | Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) | 15-3 | 238 |
| 9 | 10 | Indiana Tech | 17-2 | 235 |
| 10 | 11 | Southern Oregon | 14-1 | 224 |
| 11 | 16 | Hastings (Neb.) | 15-2 | 212 |
| 12 | 6 | Morningside (Iowa) | 13-6 | 195 |
| 13 | 15 | Indiana Wesleyan | 14-4 | 184 |
| 14 | 18 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 12-5 | 163 |
| 15 | 24 | Northwest Christian (Ore.) | 13-1 | 155 |
| 16 | 17 | Tabor (Kan.) | 11-5 | 154 |
| 17 | 13 | Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) | 11-6 | 152 |
| 18 | 14 | St. Francis (Ill.) | 10-6 | 143 |
| 19 | 19 | Valley City State (N.D.) | 13-3 | 139 |
| 20 | 22 | Lawrence Tech (Mich.) | 14-4 | 123 |
| 21 | NR | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 17-1 | 117 |
| 22 | NR | Taylor (Ind.) | 11-7 | 100 |
| 23 | 23 | Mayville State (N.D.) | 13-4 | 96 |
| 24 | 25 | Point (Ga.) | 12-4 | 89 |
| 25 | 21 | Friends (Kan.) | 10-7 | 67 |
Dropped From Top 25: Saint Francis (Ind.), Indiana East
Others Receiving Votes: Saint Francis (Ind.) 50; Indiana East 39; Bryan (Tenn.) 31; Roosevelt (Ill.) 23; UC Merced 20; Reinhardt (Ga.) 19; Oklahoma Wesleyan 7; Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 5; Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 5; Judson (Ill.) 3; Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 3
