Connect with us

We Speak Women's College Basketball

Bethel Leads First Regular Season NAIA Women’s Basketball Top 25 as Montana Tech and Carroll Surge

Published

on

Montana Tech women's basketball player Brooke Badovinac, wearing No. 22, shoots over a Concordia defender during a game
Montana Tech's Brooke Badovinac shoots during a women's basketball game. (Photo: Montana Tech Athletics / BMGphoto.com)

The first regular season NAIA women’s poll reshuffled almost the whole board, with Bethel (Tenn.) rising to No. 1 and Montana schools Montana Tech and Carroll (Mont.) making the biggest jumps.

The first regular-season Gared NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll sees a lot of movement, as only two teams remained the same rank as the preseason poll.

Top 25 (rank, institution [first-place votes], record, previous rank)
1. Bethel (Tenn.) [14] — 3-0 (last: 4)
2. Dordt (Iowa) [3] — 4-0 (last: 7)
3. Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) — 5-0 (last: 5)
4. Saint Francis (Ind.) [1] — 5-0 (last: 9)
5. Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) — 3-1 (last: 2)
6. Montana Tech [1] — 5-0 (last: 16)
7. Marian (Ind.) — 3-1 (last: 1)
8. Georgetown (Ky.) [1] — 6-0 (last: 11)
9. Concordia (Neb.) — 3-1 (last: 10)
10. Indiana Wesleyan — 4-0 (last: 14)
11. Rio Grande (Ohio) — 4-0 (last: 13)
T-12. Campbellsville (Ky.) — 3-2 (last: 8)
T-12. Rocky Mountain (Mont.) — 2-0 (last: 12)
14. Carroll (Mont.) — 4-0 (last: 24)
15. Hastings (Neb.) — 2-0 (last: 18)
16. Benedictine (Kan.) — 4-0 (last: 15)
17. Spring Arbor (Mich.) — 5-0 (last: 25)
18. MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) — 3-0 (last: 17)
19. Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) — 4-2 (last: 6)
20. Loyola (La.) — 2-0 (last: 19)
21. College of the Ozarks (Mo.) — 2-2 (last: 20)
22. Faulkner (Ala.) — 4-0 (last: RV)
23. Oregon Tech — 3-1 (last: 23)
24. Dakota State (S.D.) — 1-4 (last: 3)
25. Montana State-Northern — 4-0 (last: NR)

Dropped from Top 25: College of Idaho, Southeastern (Fla.).

Receiving Votes: Bethel (Kan.), Briar Cliff (Iowa), College of Idaho, Corban (Ore.), Evangel (Mo.), Huntington (Ind.), Indiana Tech, Reinhardt (Ga.), Southeastern (Fla.), Texas A&M – San Antonio.

Read Next

We Speak Women's College Basketball

SEC Women’s Basketball Reaches 60-3 in November 15 Week 2 Notes as Georgia Moves to 5-0

Published

on

South Carolina forward Joyce Edwards holding a basketball during a game

The best start in SEC women’s basketball history kept rolling Saturday, as Mississippi State and Georgia won on the road and Texas rolled at home to push the league to 60-3 in the November 15 Week 2 notes, with Georgia alone at 5-0 and a Sunday slate headlined by USC vs South Carolina in Greenville.

Results

November 10

Furman at Auburn W 74-56
New Haven at Tennessee W 83-40
San Jose State at Oklahoma W 98-44
McNeese at LSU W 100-43

November 11

Evansville at Kentucky W 98-30
Kennesaw State at Georgia W 84-42
Albany at Ole Miss W 95-41
South Dakota State at Texas W 93-63
Troy at Mississippi State W 79-57
Western Kentucky at Vanderbilt W 101-59

November 12

South Florida at Florida L 70-72
Middle Tennessee at Tennessee W 110-64
South Carolina at Clemson W 65-44
Alabama at Memphis L 70-75
UAPB at Arkansas W 95-90
UT Martin at Missouri W 103-59

November 13

Oral Roberts at Oklahoma W 93-62
Denver at LSU W 101-37
Auburn at Texas Tech L 71-73

November 14

Mississippi State at Buffalo W 90-57
Georgia at Ohio W 75-55
Tarleton State at Texas W 91-35

Upcoming Schedule

November 15

Eastern Michigan at Kentucky 12 p.m. SECN+
USC vs South Carolina 1 p.m. ABC (The Real SC, Greenville, S.C.)
Vanderbilt at Iowa 1 p.m. FS1
Florida at FSU 2 p.m. ACCNX
Southern at Oklahoma 2 p.m. SECN+
Louisiana Tech at Ole Miss 3 p.m. SECN+
Mercer at Alabama 3 p.m. SECN+
Lindenwood at Missouri 3 p.m. SECN+

November 16

Lamar at Texas A&M 5 p.m. SECN+
Arkansas at Little Rock 8 p.m. ESPN+
Troy at LSU 8 p.m. SECN+

All times Eastern.

Conference Standings

Conference standings (overall; all teams 0-0 in conference play): Georgia 5-0, Arkansas 4-0, Kentucky 4-0, LSU 4-0, Mississippi State 4-0, Missouri 4-0, Oklahoma 4-0, Tennessee 4-0, Texas 4-0, Vanderbilt 4-0, Ole Miss 3-0, South Carolina 3-0, Texas A&M 3-0, Alabama 4-1, Auburn 3-1, Florida 3-1.

Weekly Honors

SEC Co-Players of the Week presented by Allstate: Florida’s Kiyomi McMiller and Kentucky’s Ajša Sivka.

McMiller ranks second in the nation in scoring and her 32 made field goals are the most in the country. Her 42 points vs. UCF on Nov. 5 were the fourth most in program history and the second most in the nation this season. Her 31 points in the season opener were the most ever by a Gator in their first game with the program, and her seven made 3-pointers against UCF are tied for the third most in a game in program history. She earned Associated Press national player of the week honorable mention.

Sivka put together impressive scoring and passing performances in all three of Kentucky’s wins to begin the season: 12 points, a team-high eight assists, three rebounds, one block and one steal in her first game, going 2-of-2 from behind the arc; 11 points, seven rebounds and three assists in her second game; and a team-high 32 points against a ranked NC State team, with eight 3s that tied Rhyne Howard for a single-game school record, contributing to a school-record 13 team 3s in the first half and a school-record-tying 18 team 3s for the game, plus five rebounds and three assists. She became the second SEC player since 2002-03 to have at least eight made 3s against an AP ranked team.

SEC Freshman of the Week presented by Allstate: Oklahoma freshman forward LeeLee Bell averaged 22.5 points, 10.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals per game to lead No. 21 Oklahoma to a 2-0 start, highlighted by a win over No. 12 North Carolina. In her debut against the Tar Heels in Paris, Bell poured in 25 points with eight rebounds and four assists, becoming the first freshman nationally this century to post that stat line in a debut against a ranked opponent; her 25 points were the second highest-scoring debut by any player in Oklahoma history. She followed with her first career double-double, 20 points, 12 rebounds and four steals in a 95-38 win over Morgan State — the first Sooner, regardless of class, to record that stat line since 2002. Bell earned USBWA National Freshman of the Week honors.

Around the League

SEC women’s basketball teams opened the season with 51 straight wins. The conference currently stands at 60-3. The 51 consecutive wins is the best start in SEC women’s basketball history.
South Carolina is one of two teams playing three of its first four games against ranked opponents. Only four ranked teams faced a ranked opponent in their season opener – both games at Oui Play in Paris. Twelve of the current top-25 teams have not faced any ranked opponents yet this season.
With a 93-point showing to defeat No. 25/25 NC State last Sunday and a 98-point showing over Evansville on Wednesday, UK has scored at least 93 points in consecutive games for the first time since 2015. Those 90+ point performances have come off the back of a school-record-tying 18 team 3s in each of those contests.
The Commodores have won 24 consecutive regular-season games against non-SEC teams. Vanderbilt is 67-20 against nonconference foes under head coach Shea Ralph and 47-5 over the last four seasons.

Read Next

SEC Women’s Basketball Moves to 57-3 in November 14 Week 2 Notes After Auburn’s Loss at Texas Tech
ACC Women’s Basketball Reaches 58 Nonconference Wins With UConn at Louisville Ahead
HBCU Hoops Recap: Tennessee State Pushes No. 11 Tennessee to the Wire as Ty-Laur Johnson Drops 22 on Friday Night

Continue Reading

Trending