Statesmen Ranked 33rd in First National Poll
William Penn University Athletics
Oskaloosa–Its best start in decades has the William Penn women’s basketball team on the national radar as the NAIA Division I top-25 poll was released Tuesday.
The Statesmen (7-3, 6-1), who are off to their best 10-game start since 1992-1993, are unofficially #33 with six points. It is the first time the program has been in a national poll in any form since the 2013-2014 preseason rating; it is also the highest WPU has been ranked since being 30th on February 19, 2013.
WPU is one of five teams from the Heart of America Athletic Conference in the ranking. Preseason #1 MidAmerica Nazarene is now #3, while #12 Baker, #14 Benedictine, and #17 Central Methodist are also ranked. William Penn defeated Central Methodist last month, while its lone Heart loss is to Baker on the road. The squad’s only other two losses are to Saint Xavier (Ill.), which is #3 in NAIA Division II, and Olivet Nazarene (Ill.), which is 7-3 overall.
Freed Hardeman (Tenn.) is the new #1 with 219 points and eight first-place votes. Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) is second with the final top nod, while MNU, Westmont (Calif.), and Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) round out the top five.
