Nov. 26—MITCHELL — Dakota Wesleyan University women's basketball moved up two spots to No. 14 nationally in the latest NAIA coaches top-25 poll issued on Wednesday.
The Tigers (5-2) moved up from No. 16 after three consecutive Great Plains Athletic Conference victories over Morningside, Midland and Briar Cliff, the last of which is now ranked No. 8, despite falling to DWU on Tuesday 79-70 in Sioux City, Iowa. The NAIA top-25 is issued every two weeks.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe new poll also confirmed that DWU will play three consecutive top-10 opponents in the next two weeks. That starts with a visit to No. 4 Dakota State on Tuesday, Dec. 2 for the annual Battle of the Blues rivalry contest in Madison. DWU then plays at No. 9 Concordia (Neb.) on Dec. 6 in Seward, Nebraska, and visits No. 1 Dordt on Dec. 10 in Sioux Center, Iowa.
There are four GPAC teams ranked in the poll, with No. 1 Dordt, No. 8 Briar Cliff, No. 9 Concordia joining No. 14 DWU, while Hastings and Northwestern are in the receiving votes category. Aside from No. 1 Dordt and No. 4 Dakota State, the rest of the top-five includes Bethel (Tenn.) at No. 2 followed by No. 3 Campbellsville (Ky.) and No. 5 Marian (Ind.). DWU and Campbellsville will play in Hawaii on Dec. 19.
In the NAIA men's top-25 poll, Grace (Ind.) moved up from No. 4 to the No. 1 spot, with Arizona Christian, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), Montana Tech and Langston (Okla.) rounding out the top-5, with previous No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan dropping to No. 6. The GPAC is represented by Northwestern at No. 16, which dropped from No. 3 in the poll two weeks ago, and Concordia moved into the top-25 at 24th after a road win over the Red Raiders on Nov. 22.
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