STANDISH, Maine – The D3hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national polls have been released and Saint Joseph's College is ranked 10th and14th, respectively, in the country.
The Monks received 374 points in the D3hoops.com poll and 97 points in the WBCA rankings.
Saint Joseph's, 12-0 overall as of January 7th, remains as one of just nine NCAA DIII programs to have not yet suffered a loss after posting wins over Pomona-Pitzer (74-70) and Occidental (69-50) during the team's trip to California over semester break. The Monks' 12-0 start is the second-best opening to a season in team history. The 1998-99 Monks kicked off their season with 13-consecutive victories.
Through January 7th, Saint Joseph's is scoring 76.1 points and allowing 55.5 per game while shooting 45.3% from the floor, 36.3% from three-point range, and 70.5% from the free-throw line.
As of January 7th, Saint Joseph's ranks fourth in NCAA DIII Women's Basketball in assist/turnover ratio (1.35) and seventh in fewest turnovers per game (11.7). The Monks are also 12th in field goal percentage, 14th in fewest turnovers (149), and 19th in scoring margin (20.6).
In the fifth D3hoops.com poll of the season, Bowdoin (12-0) remains in the top slot with 15 first-place votes and 614 points overall and is followed by Thomas More (610), Scranton (542), St. Thomas (515), and Amherst (513) in the top five. Tufts (6th, 510) and Middlebury (25th, 58) are the only other New England programs to be listed in the top 25 in this week's poll while Babson (8) also received votes in the January 6th D3hoops.com poll.
The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.
In the sixth WBCA poll of the season, Bowdoin is ranked first with six first-place votes and 198 points overall and is followed by Thomas More (192), Amherst (180), Scranton (171), and St. Thomas (167) in the top five. Tufts is ranked sixth with 158 points.
The WBCA NCAA Division III Coaches Poll Committee is made up of nine head coaches at Division III institutions. All are members of the WBCA. The 2018-19 committee members are Brian Morehouse, non-voting chair (Hope), Renee DeVarney (Swarthmore), Kristen Dowling (Claremont-Mudd-Scripps), Alex Lang (Brooklyn), Jennifer Reimer (Case Western Reserve), Alex Richey (Oglethorpe), Mia Smith (Illinois Wesleyan), Daphne Thompson (SUNY Oneonta) and Kelly Thompson (Roger Williams).
The Monks kick off Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play tonight with a 7:00 PM contest at Regis College.
