Northwestern College earned votes in this week’s edition of the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball coaches’ poll released earlier today by the national office.
The Red Raiders dropped two spots and totaled 49 votes, two fewer than Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) and seven less than Valley City State (N.D.). Northwestern is one of five teams from the GPAC recognized in the Feb. 21 poll: Concordia (2), Dakota Wesleyan (9), Morningside (10) and Hastings (16).
St. Francis (Ill.) earned all 12 first place votes and is the top ranked team for the fifth straight poll. They are 29-0 this season, one of two undefeated teams left among NAIA Division II. Concordia is second, followed by Saint Xavier (Ill.), Marian (Ind.) and Southeastern (Fla.), the other unbeaten team in the NAIA.
2016-17 NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – Poll No. 6 (Feb. 21)
1 St. Francis (Ill.) (12) 29-0 312
2 Concordia (Neb.) 28-2 295
3 Saint Xavier (Ill.) 27-2 293
4 Marian (Ind.) 27-3 283
5 Southeastern (Fla.) 24-0 278
6 Southern Oregon 25-3 262
7 Davenport (Mich.) 27-3 249
8 College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 23-4 241
9 Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 24-5 233
10 Morningside (Iowa) 23-7 218
T11 Friends (Kan.) 25-4 198
T11 Jamestown (N.D.) 22-5 198
13 Eastern Oregon 25-4 181
14 IU Northwest (Ind.) 24-5 179
15 Purdue Northwest (Ind.) 23-7 174
16 Hastings (Neb.) 22-8 169
17 Indiana Tech 24-6 168
18 Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 23-5 147
19 IU East (Ind.) 25-5 125
20 Tabor (Kan.) 23-6 124
21 Dickinson State (N.D.) 22-6 108
22 Siena Heights (Mich.) 22-8 84
23 Milligan (Tenn.) 22-8 82
24 Oregon Tech 23-7 79
25 Reinhardt (Ga.) 26-4 72
Dropped from the rankings: Indiana Wesleyan (24)
Others receiving votes: Valley City State (N.D.) 56; Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 51; Northwestern (Iowa) 49; Saint Francis (Ind.) 15; Antelope Valley (Calif.) 15; Point (Ga.) 15; Indiana Wesleyan 12; Saint Mary (Kan.) 8
