WAYNE, N.J. -- The William Paterson women's basketball team held steady in the national polls, checking in at seventh in the USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association Top 25 Poll and eighth in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll released Feb. 9.
The Pioneers are 21-1 overall and 9-1 in New Jersey Athletic Conference play, most recently earning a 67-50 home win against Ramapo Feb. 3. William Paterson currently leads the NJAC's North Division by 1.5 games, and has clinched a bid in the NJAC Tournament. With three regular-season games remaining, the Pioneers are looking to secure the North's top seed and a first-round bye with a combination of two WP wins and/or Montclair State (8-3 NJAC) losses.
The Pioneer women join the Pioneer men, who are ranked 10th by D3hoops.com this week, making William Paterson one of five Division III schools to currently have both of its basketball programs rated among the top 25 in the country by D3hoops.com, and one of two to have both teams in the top 10 (Carthage, No. 22/11; Illinois Wesleyan, No. 23/3; UW-Stevens Point, No. 6/20; Washington University, No. 3/7).
The Pioneers will host Montclair State Saturday, Feb. 13, at 1:00 p.m.
USA Today/ESPN/Women's Basketball Coaches Association Division III Poll (Feb. 9)
Rank Institution - First Place Votes Previous Ranking Record Points
1 Amherst College (Mass.) - 6 1 21-0 174
2 Kean University (N.J.) - 1 2 21-1 168
3 Illinois Wesleyan University 3 20-1 158
4 Hope College (Mich.) 4 20-1 156
5 George Fox University (Ore.) 5 19-2 148
6 Washington University (Mo.) 6 18-2 140
7 William Paterson University (N.J.) 7 21-1 129
8 Marymount University (Va.) 8 20-1 126
9 Christopher Newport University (Va.) 10 20-0 114
10 Messiah College (Pa.) 11 18-2 109
T11 Calvin College (Mich.) 9 18-3 100
T11 Moravian College (Pa.) T12 18-2 100
13 Carthage College (Wis.) 14 18-3 91
T14 Thomas More College (Ky.) 15 19-2 84
T14 Tufts University (Mass.) T12 19-3 84
16 University of Scranton (Pa.) 16 18-3 75
17 University of Puget Sound (Wash.) T18 18-3 60
18 Muhlenberg College (Pa.) 21 17-3 42
19 DePauw University (Ind.) 22 18-3 39
20 Washington & Jefferson College (Pa.) T18 18-3 34
21 University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point 17 17-4 27
22 Louisiana College 25 17-2 22
23 Lebanon Valley College (Pa.) 20 19-2 21
24 Simpson College (Iowa) NR 19-3 15
T25 Mount Union College (Ohio) NR 18-3 12
T25 State University of NY at Farmingdale NR 18-0 12
D3hoops.com Women's Basketball Poll (Feb. 9)
Rank Institution - First Place Votes Record Points Previous Ranking
1 Amherst (20) 21-0 616 1
2 Kean (3) 21-1 592 2
3 Illinois Wesleyan (1) 20-1 569 3
4 Hope (1) 20-1 556 4
5 George Fox 19-2 512 5
6 Marymount 20-1 449 7
7 Washington U. 18-2 446 6
8 William Paterson 21-1 437 8
9 Messiah 18-2 380 11
10 Moravian 18-2 355 12
11 Carthage 18-3 342 14
12 Calvin 18-3 337 9
13 Tufts 19-3 333 10
14 Scranton 17-3 328 13
15 Christopher Newport 20-0 318 15
16 Thomas More 19-2 287 17
17 Puget Sound 18-3 234 18
18 Muhlenberg 16-3 189 19
19 DePauw 18-3 151 22
20 UW-Stevens Point 17-4 101 16
21 Louisiana College 17-2 99 —
22 Farmingdale State 18-0 99 25
23 Washington and Jefferson 18-3 64 20
24 Mary Washington 16-3 58 —
25 Lebanon Valley 19-2 47 21
