Jan. 29—MITCHELL — The Dakota Wesleyan University women’s basketball team hasn’t lost in the two weeks between NAIA coaches top-25 polls but the Tigers fell a spot to No. 16 in the latest rankings released on Wednesday.
The Tigers currently have a 17-4 record, having won four consecutive games since Jan. 15, which includes a narrow 57-55 win over Morningside (Iowa) on Jan. 15 and a strong 88-37 victory on Jan. 22 against Waldorf. DWU is on the road to begin the month of February, facing Midland (Neb.) on Feb. 1 and Briar Cliff on Feb. 5 before returning home to take on in-state rival Mount Marty at 6 p.m. on Feb. 8 at the Corn Palace.
Dordt remains the unanimous national women’s No. 1 for the second consecutive poll, having gone 21-0 to begin the season. Other GPAC teams include Briar Cliff staying put in the rankings at No. 5, and both Hastings and Northwestern received votes. Dakota State also held its position at No. 6, as the top-six teams all remained in place. Hastings dropped from the top-25 this week, while Cumberlands (Ky.) was the big riser in the Jan. 29 rankings, moving up to No. 10 from No. 16.
In the men’s top-25 rankings, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) becomes the fourth program this season to obtain the No. 1 ranking, with former No. 1 Georgetown (Ky.) falling to No. 3. Dordt leads GPAC schools in the rankings at No. 8, followed by No. 13 Concordia and No. 16 Northwestern. Morningside is also receiving votes.
The polls are voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and the poll no longer is used in the selection process for the national tournament field.
