USF Athletics
Joe Gorby, Director of Athletics Communications
KANSAS CITY – Winners of their last five outings, the University of St. Francis women’s basketball team is trending upward as the Saints have climbed four spots into 12th place in the first 2020-21 regular-season NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, which was released this Wednesday (Dec. 16).
USF, which has compiled a 7-1 overall record this season to date, tipped off the campaign ranked 16th in the NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ 2020-21 Preseason Top 25 Poll. The Saints, who are led by fourth-year head coach Steve Brooks, received 360 points in the latest (Dec. 16) poll and tallied 276 points in the preseason poll.
Westmont (Calif.) maintained its hold on the number-one placing with 12 first-place votes and 581 points followed by Wayland Baptist (Texas) and Campbellsville (Ky.), who both tied for second place with 566 points apiece. Wayland Baptist earned three first-place votes while Campbellsville, who moved up from fourth in the preseason poll, garnered six first-place votes. Indiana Tech (405 points) claimed 11th place and Clarke (Iowa), who posted a 78-72 win at USF earlier this season (Nov. 10), remained in 13th place. Marian (Ind.), which fell on the road to the Saints 56-48 this season (Nov. 7) slid from third down to ninth in this week’s national rankings.
The NAIA Top 25 Poll is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the teams and the national poll is voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences both of Association of Independent Institutions and unaffiliated Groups.
USF, which is coming off a 70-49 non-conference decision at Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) member Governors State this last Saturday (Dec. 12) in University Park, Ill., will seek its sixth consecutive victory this Saturday (Dec. 19) as the Saints go up against another CCAC foe the St. Ambrose Fighting Bees in a non-league game in Davenport, Iowa. A 1 p.m. (CT) start time is scheduled for the matchup at SAU’s Lee Lohman Arena.