STANDISH, Maine – The D3hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national polls have been announced and Saint Joseph's College is ranked 10th in the former and 11th in the latter.
The Monks received 400 points in the January 27th D3hoops.com poll and 116 points in this week's WBCA rankings.
Saint Joseph's, 19-0 overall and 7-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play as of January 29th, remains as one of just three NCAA DIII programs to have not yet suffered a loss after posting conference victories over Simmons (72-45) and Suffolk (77-63) last week. The Monks' 19-0 start is the best opening to a season in program history, topping the 13-0 start posted by the 1998-99 team.
Through January 23rd, the Monks are averaging 75.6 points while allowing 55.5 points per game and shooting 43.7% from the field, 35.4% from three-point distance, and 69.8% from the free-throw line.
As of January 28th, Saint Joseph's ranks third in NCAA DIII Women's Basketball in assist/turnover ratio (1.35) and ninth in fewest turnovers per game (12.7). The Monks are also 10th in fewest turnovers (242), 12th in three-pointers made per game (8.9), 13th in three-pointers made (169), and 14th in scoring margin (20.1).
In the seventh D3hoops.com poll of the season, Bowdoin (19-0) remains in the top slot for the seventh-consecutive week with 16 first-place votes and 616 points overall while #2 Thomas More earned nine first-place nods and 608 points. St. Thomas is third (543), Tufts fourth (529), and Amherst rounds out the top five with 493 points. Fellow New England Region programs Babson (17 points) and Trinity (2) also received votes in this week's 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 ninth WBCA poll of the season, Bowdoin is ranked first with five first-place votes and 197 points overall and is followed by Thomas More (195), St. Thomas (177), Tufts (177), and Amherst (165) in the top five. Middlebury also received one vote this week.
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).
Saint Joseph's will play at Rivier University on Thursday at 7:00 PM.