Scots Hold on to No. 20 Ranking for Third Week

Courtesy Lyon College Athletics Department

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The records continue to fall for the Lyon College women’s basketball team, which this week find themselves holding on to the 20th spot in the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Top 25 Poll, according to information released by the national office. This is the third consecutive week at No. 20 for Lyon and the eighth straight poll the Scots have been in the Top 25 – a record for the program.

Lyon College won a pair of games last week, defeating Park University on the road, 55-48, and No. 23-ranked William Woods University at home in overtime, 77-70, to mark the 22nd win of the year as the Scots improved to 22-3. The 22 wins is the most ever in a single season for the program. The Scots went on this week to record victory No. 23 with a 77-52 win over Missouri Baptist on Tuesday.

Lyon College, which began the season ranked No. 23 nationally, rose to as high as 15th in the nation, before a loss to Columbia College eventually dropped the Scots back to No. 20. Lyon has now won seven straight games and 14 of its last 15. LC is currently in second place (13-1) in the American Midwest Conference, sitting one game behind front-runner Columbia College, which is unbeaten at 14-0. William Woods (20-4) is in third place with an 11-3 league record.

The Scots aren’t the only AMC team in the national spotlight. Columbia moved up two spots this week to the Cougars’ highest ranking of the year, at No. 15. William Woods is at No. 23 once again this week.

Lyon College will travel to Springfield, Ill. on Thursday to face Benedictine University (3-21, 0-14 AMC) at 5:30 p.m., before meeting Columbia College on Saturday at 2 p.m. in Columbia.

One week after being tied at No. 1, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) edges Oklahoma City for the top spot in this week’s poll. The Lady Lions garnered six first-place votes and 277 points, while Oklahoma City received five first-place votes and 276 points. 

Freed-Hardeman, who is tied with No. 5 Cumberland (Tenn.) for the most wins in the NAIA with 24, earns the No. 1 spot for the fourth time since the 1999-2000 season. The Lady Lions have won 11-straight, including a 101-34 victory against Morris (S.C.) their last time out on Feb. 7. Freed-Hardeman ranks amongst the top 10 in 16 statistical categories, including the nation’s best scoring defense, allowing only 45.6 points per game. The Lady Lions have five games remaining on their regular-season schedule with three against TranSouth Athletic Conference opponents.

Second-ranked Oklahoma City has been equally dominant this season. The Stars are 21-2 – 13-0 in Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) action – and have not lost since Nov. 10, good for an NAIA-best 20-game winning streak. 

Fellow SAC member, Lubbock Christian (Texas) slides up one spot to No. 3 with 263 points. The Lady Chaparrals, who held the No. 1 ranking six times this season, are 23-2 with both losses coming against Oklahoma City. 

Similarly to Lubbock Christian, No. 4 Westminster (Utah) and fifth-ranked Cumberland improve one spot from last week with 254 and 245 points, respectively. Westminster (22-2) has been listed amongst the top five in every poll this season, while Cumberland (24-1) is making its first-ever appearance within the quintet, dating back to the 1999-2000 season. 

No. 14 Shawnee State’s (Ohio) seven-spot leapfrog leads a poll that saw nine teams post multiple-position movements. The Bears have won four-consecutive games, including a 55-53 victory at then-No. 11 Campbellsville (Ky.) on Jan. 31. Shawnee State puts its streak on the line Thursday when it travels to Mid-South Conference leader Cumberland. 

No. 18 Campbellsville and No. 19 Georgetown (Ky.) fell the farthest amongst the poll this week, dropping six positions, as both teams lost recent games to unranked opponents. 

No. 24 Southern Poly (Ga.), who joins the Top 25 for the first time since March 9, 2011, is this week’s newcomer. The Hornets replace previous No. 24 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.). Southern Poly has won eight-straight en route to a 0.5 game lead over seventh-ranked Lee (Tenn.) in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings.

2012-13 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll – No. 8 (Feb. 12)

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