The Northwestern College women's basktball team begins the season ranked 11th in the NAIA D-II Coaches' Preseason poll released earlier today by the national office.
NAIA Press Release |
PDF
The Red Raiders finished the 2018-19 season with a 29-5 record, losing in the national semifinals to eventual national champion Concordia. Head Coach
Chris Yaw, now in his ninth season as the head of the women's basketball program, returns two starters and nine players from last year's team, including
Sammy Blum and
Anna Wedel, who both earned all-conference honors.
Northwestern accounted for 215 points and is one of six teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference that begin the season ranked in the top 25; Concordia (1), Dordt (5), Dakota Wesleyan (7), Hastings (16) and Morningside (19).
Concordia earned all 12 first place votes and returns four starters from last year's national championship team. Southeastern (Fla.) is second, followed by College of the Ozarks (Mo.), Indiana Tech and Dordt.
Northwestern opens the season on the road at the Trinity Christian Classic on Nov. 1-2.
2019-20 NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll (Oct. 23)
| RANK |
LAST WEEK |
SCHOOL |
RECORD |
FINAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Concordia (Neb.) [12] |
35-3 |
312 |
| 2 |
2 |
Southeastern (Fla.) |
31-3 |
302 |
| 3 |
5 |
College of the Ozarks (Mo.) |
31-4 |
284 |
| 4 |
7 |
Indiana Tech |
32-4 |
270 |
| 5 |
16 |
Dordt (Iowa) |
20-12 |
266 |
| 6 |
8 |
Marian (Ind.) |
27-7 |
264 |
| 7 |
3 |
Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) |
31-6 |
258 |
| 8 |
9 |
Eastern Oregon |
29-4 |
234 |
| 9 |
14 |
St. Francis (Ill.) |
24-9 |
231 |
| 10 |
11 |
Antelope Valley (Calif.) |
27-6 |
230 |
| 11 |
4 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
29-5 |
215 |
| 12 |
15 |
Sterling (Kan.) |
27-6 |
195 |
| 13 |
24 |
Saint Francis (Ind.) |
20-13 |
192 |
| 14 |
23 |
Corban (Ore.) |
25-10 |
167 |
| 15 |
6 |
Taylor (Ind.) |
30-5 |
165 |
| 16 |
13 |
Hastings (Neb.) |
20-13 |
163 |
| 17 |
RV |
Saint Xavier (Ill.) |
21-10 |
158 |
| 18 |
10 |
Tabor (Kan.) |
28-4 |
137 |
| 19 |
19 |
Morningside (Iowa) |
19-13 |
126 |
| 20 |
12 |
Bryan (Tenn.) |
31-2 |
109 |
| 21 |
25 |
Oregon Tech |
24-10 |
92 |
| 22 |
RV |
Michigan-Dearborn |
24-7 |
80 |
| 23 |
RV |
Mayville State (N.D.) |
19-8 |
68 |
| 24 |
RV |
Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) |
21-12 |
66 |
| 25 |
18 |
Indiana Northwest (Ind.) |
27-8 |
62 |
Receiving Votes: WVU Tech 50, Embry-Riddle (Ariz.) 47, Huntington (Ind.) 47, Indiana Wesleyan 38, Aquinas (Mich.) 33, Bellevue (Neb.) 31, Bethany (Kan.) 17, Southern Oregon 15, Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) 9, Milligan (Tenn.) 7, St. Thomas (Fla.) 5, UC Merced (Calif.) 4
