KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Campbellsville University women's basketball team appears in the top five for the fifth consecutive rating period, checking in at #4 in the latest NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll released Wednesday morning.
The Lady Tigers (17-3, 2-2 MSC) received 488 voting points in the poll, sliding just one spot from their previous #3 ranking. The movement comes amidst a major reshuffling at the top of the national landscape, heavily influenced by the rigorous Mid-South Conference slate.
The MSC continues to assert itself as the nation's premier conference, boasting three of the top four teams in the country. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) jumped three spots to #2 (546 points) after extending their record to 19-1 (besting both Campbellsville and Bethel (Tenn.) since the prior ranking) while the aforementioned Wildcats slid one spot to #3 (533 points). Defending national champion Dordt (Iowa) remains the unanimous #1 with 561 points and 15 first-place votes.
Campbellsville's resume remains one of the most impressive in the country. The Lady Tigers opened the year with 13 consecutive victories and have maintained a high-octane offense that has eclipsed the 90-point plateau six times this season, highlighted by a 113-point outburst against Carolina on January 4th. The team boasts a plus-29 scoring margin on the year, pairing their explosive scoring with a defense that has held nine opponents to fewer than 50 points.
Whitney Hay continues to anchor the Lady Tigers, averaging 17.4 points per game on a blistering 55.6% shooting clip. The perimeter attack is bolstered by
Dea Bradley and freshman
Lainey Johnson, who have combined for 44 made three-pointers this season.
The poll also highlighted the depth of the Mid-South Conference. In addition to the three teams in the top four, the University of the Cumberlands appears at #15, and rival Lindsey Wilson broke into the Top 25 at #24. Georgetown (Ky.) is also receiving votes.
The #4 Lady Tigers will immediately put their ranking to the test in a Top-25 showdown tomorrow, Thursday, January 29th, when they travel to see the newly ranked #24 Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders. Tip-off is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET in Columbia, Kentucky.
| TREND |
RANK |
LAST TIME |
INSTITUTION [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] |
RECORDS |
POINTS |
| ● |
1 |
1 |
Dordt (Iowa) [15] |
19-1 |
561 |
| ▲ |
2 |
5 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) [4] |
19-1 |
546 |
| ▼ |
3 |
2 |
Bethel (Tenn.) [1] |
19-2 |
533 |
| ▼ |
4 |
3 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
17-3 |
488 |
| ▼ |
5 |
4 |
Marian (Ind.) |
18-2 |
472 |
| ● |
6 |
6 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
19-1 |
466 |
| ● |
7 |
7 |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
17-3 |
445 |
| ● |
8 |
8 |
Rio Grande (Ohio) |
19-1 |
437 |
| ● |
9 |
9 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
17-4 |
403 |
| ● |
10 |
10 |
Concordia (Neb.) |
16-5 |
346 |
| ● |
11 |
11 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
15-3 |
343 |
| ▲ |
12 |
13 |
Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) |
16-4 |
325 |
| ▼ |
13 |
12 |
Montana Tech |
16-2 |
303 |
| ▲ |
14 |
19 |
William Carey (Miss.) |
18-1 |
269 |
| ▼ |
15 |
14 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
17-3 |
259 |
| ▲ |
15 |
17 |
Eastern Oregon |
18-3 |
259 |
| ▲ |
17 |
22 |
Evangel (Mo.) |
16-1 |
209 |
| ▲ |
18 |
21 |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
17-3 |
196 |
| ▼ |
19 |
16 |
Briar Cliff (Iowa) |
16-5 |
158 |
| ▲ |
20 |
23 |
Friends (Kan.) |
17-3 |
151 |
| ▼ |
21 |
15 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
19-2 |
139 |
| ▼ |
22 |
20 |
Corban (Ore.) |
16-4 |
138 |
| ▼ |
23 |
18 |
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) |
13-7 |
113 |
| ▲ |
24 |
RV |
Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) |
15-4 |
100 |
| ▼ |
25 |
24 |
Indiana Tech |
16-4 |
92 |
Dropped from the Top 25: Southeastern (Fla.)
Receiving Votes: Carroll (Mont.) 85, Langston (Okla.) 81, Southeastern (Fla.) 81, Loyola (La.) 66, Hastings (Neb.) 59, Huntington (Ind.) 57, Columbia (Mo.) 49, Tennessee Southern 35, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 23, Montana State-Northern 23, LSU Shreveport (La.) 17, Taylor (Ind.) 15, Science and Arts (Okla.) 11, Georgetown (Ky.) 9, Southern Oregon 7, Oregon Tech 6. Hope International (Calif.) 6, College of Idaho 6, Faulkner (Ala.) 5, Providence (Mont.) 4, Cumberland (Tenn.) 3, Indiana Wesleyan 2
