Box Score KANSAS CITY - Thanks to movement in the first in-season coaches poll of the 2013-14 season, the Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions will find themselves in their fourth top-10 matchup of the year.
FHU jumped three spots to No. 3 in the NAIA Women's Basketball National Ratings released today by the NAIA and will immediately have to defend that rating against a new team to the top 10 at Bethel (Tenn.) University, which moved up six spots to No. 10.
The Lady Lions (7-0) boast an impressive resume in the early season with five wins over teams ranked in the top 25 and three wins over teams in the top 10. Bethel was one of FHU's victims earlier this season as FHU downed the Lady Wildcats, 84-74, in Henderson.
However, Bethel (7-2) has more than earned its top 10 ranking with wins over three nationally-ranked opponents. The Lady Wildcats are also very tough at home, going 21-2 in the Crisp Center since it opened last season. One of those two losses came at the hands of Freed-Hardeman.
Vanguard (Calif.) held onto its spot atop the coaches poll while Oklahoma City did the same with its No. 2 spot. Westminster (Utah) went up one spot to No. 4, flipping positions with Georgetown (Ky.) which came in at No. 5.
Two other American Midwest Conference schools appeared in the new poll with Columbia (Mo.) at No. 21 and William Woods (Mo.) at No. 25. Lyon (Ark.), which was ranked No. 24 in the preseason, dropped out of the top 25.
Six teams made their top-25 debuts this year, led by No. 13 Talladega (Ala.) and No. 14 Coastal Georgia who are 10-0 and 12-0 respectively.
2013-14 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll – No. 1 (Dec. 10)
| RANK |
LAST TIME^ |
SCHOOL (1ST PLACE VOTES) |
2013-14 RECORD |
TOTAL POINTS |
| 1 |
1 |
Vanguard (Calif.) |
6-0 |
250 |
| 2 |
2 |
Oklahoma City |
3-0 |
241 |
| 3 |
6 |
Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) |
7-0 |
235 |
| 4 |
5 |
Westminster (Utah) |
5-1 |
224 |
| 5 |
4 |
Georgetown (Ky.) |
4-1 |
220 |
| 6 |
8 |
MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) |
8-1 |
209 |
| 7 |
9 |
Campbellsville (Ky.) |
7-0 |
203 |
| 8 |
3 |
Westmont (Calif.) |
3-3 |
185 |
| 9 |
23 |
Oklahoma Baptist |
7-1 |
184 |
| 10 |
16 |
Bethel (Tenn.) |
7-2 |
179 |
| 11 |
17 |
Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) |
5-0 |
165 |
| 12 |
10 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
6-3 |
160 |
| 13 |
RV |
Talladega (Ala.) |
10-0 |
157 |
| 14 |
RV |
Coastal Georgia |
12-0 |
142 |
| 15 |
12 |
Benedictine (Kan.) |
7-3 |
132 |
| 16 |
18 |
Carroll (Mont.) |
6-3 |
121 |
| 17 |
RV |
John Brown (Ark.) |
7-1 |
119 |
| 18 |
22 |
Wiley (Texas) |
8-1 |
114 |
| 19 |
RV |
Central Methodist (Mo.) |
8-1 |
101 |
| 20 |
21 |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
2-3 |
99 |
| 21 |
13 |
Columbia (Mo.) |
4-3 |
80 |
| 22 |
7 |
Cumberland (Tenn.) |
3-4 |
74 |
| 23 |
NR |
Emmanuel (Ga.) |
7-2 |
70 |
| 24 |
NR |
Montana State-Northern |
9-0 |
62 |
| 25 |
19 |
William Woods (Mo.) |
5-2 |
59 |
Others Receiving Votes: Hope International (Calif.) 50; LSU Shreveport (La.) 47; Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 25; Xavier (La.) 22; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 19; Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 16; Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 10; San Diego Christian (Calif.) 6; Southern Poly (Ga.) 6; Lyon (Ark.) 5.
