STANDISH, Maine – The D3hoops.com and Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) national polls have been released and Saint Joseph's College is ranked eighth and 11th, respectively, for the second-consecutive week.
The second NCAA DIII Regional Rankings have also been announced and Saint Joseph's is currently fourth in the Northeast Region.
The Monks received 432 points in the February 10th D3hoops.com poll and 124 points in this week's WBCA rankings.
Saint Joseph's, 23-0 overall and 10-0 in Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) play as of February 4th, remains as one of just three NCAA DIII programs to have not yet suffered a loss after posting victories over Emmanuel College (79-69) and UMaine-Fort Kent (76-54) last week.
The 2018-19 women's basketball team is the first in SJC Athletics history to be undefeated through 23 contests. Previously, the Monks' longest winning streak to start a season was 13 games, a stretch accomplished by the 1998-99 team.
Through February 14th, the Monks are averaging 77.5 points while allowing 56.7 points per game and shooting 44.6% from the field, 35.7% from three-point distance, and 71.4% from the free-throw line.
As of February 12th, Saint Joseph's ranks second in NCAA DIII Women's Basketball in assist/turnover ratio (1.39), eighth in three-point field goals per game (9.2), ninth in three-point field goals made (212), and 10th in fewest turnovers (294) and assists per game (17.8). The Monks are also 11th in scoring margin (20.7) and fewest turnovers per game (12.8) and 14th in assists (409) and scoring offense (77.5).
In the 10th D3hoops.com poll of the season, Bowdoin (24-0) remains in the top slot for the ninth-consecutive week with 16 first-place votes and 616 points overall while #2 Thomas More (24-0) earned nine first-place nods and 608 points. St. Thomas is third (567), Amherst fourth (541) and Trine is fifth with 505 points. Tufts is ranked sixth (490) and is the only other New England Region program to earn top-25 billing this week.
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 11th WBCA poll of the season, Bowdoin is ranked first with six first-place votes and 198 points overall and is followed by Thomas More (194), St. Thomas (181), Amherst (175) and Tufts (166) in the top five.
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 second NCAA DIII Women's Basketball Northeast Regional Rankings feature Bowdoin, Amherst, Tufts, Saint Joseph's, and Smith in the top five while Babson, UMass.-Dartmouth, Trinity, Middlebury, MIT, Eastern Connecticut, and UMass.-Boston round out the top 12.
The NCAA releases regional rankings each week during the final three weeks of the season with each set providing a clearer picture as to which teams have the best chance to earn their way into the NCAA DIII Tournament. The final regional rankings will be released on Monday, February 25th, which is when the bracket for the 64-team field is unveiled.
The NCAA's official regional rankings primary criteria are: winning percentage (versus Division III teams), strength of schedule, results versus regionally ranked opponents, head-to-head results, and results versus common opponents.
Sixty-four teams go to the tournament — 43 conference champions, one team from Pool B and 20 at-large teams (Pool C). Pool B has 10 teams that are independent or members of conferences that do not have automatic bids, which is enough for one Pool B bid to be allocated to those teams.
Saint Joseph's will play at Norwich University tonight at 5:00 PM.
