Bethel Lady Wildcats enter Top 10 in NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll

KANSAS CITY, Missouri – The Bethel Lady Wildcats are ranked No. 9 nationally in the latest edition of the 2019-20 NAIA DI Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.

The Lady Cats have won seven straight and are 15-4 on the season. Bethel has four wins over teams ranked in the Top 25.

The Lady Wildcats are 9-0 at home on the season and host SSAC foe Brewton-Parker Saturday at noon in Crisp Arena.

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 2000):

· The Master’s is ranked No. 1 for the first time in school history.

· The Mustangs are the third team to land in the top spot so far this year and they are currently one of only two teams in the Top 25 that are undefeated.

· New to the Top 25: No. 21 Clarke (Iowa), No. 23 LSU Shreveport (La.) and No. 24 Martin Methodist (Tenn.)

· Seven teams remained at the same rank from the last poll. Six of those teams are in the Top 10.

· The Master’s and Campbellsville (Ky.) switched up the Top 5 by flipping spots. Oklahoma City, Westmont (Calif.) and Vanguard (Calif.) all remained at the same rank.

· Oklahoma City holds the longest active streak in the Top 25 with 257 total appearances dating back to the 1997-98 school year.

· Union (Tenn.) and Vanguard (Calif.) are the only programs to have spent an entire season ranked No. 1 (Union: 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) (Vanguard: 2005-06, 2006-07).

· Union (Tenn.) leads all NAIA schools with 59 No. 1 rankings. Oklahoma City is second with 50 and Vanguard (Calif.) is third with 45.

2019-20 NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll

RANK LAST TIME SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] RECORD POINTS

1 3 The Master’s (Calif.) [5] 18-0 216

2 2 Oklahoma City [4] 13-0 215

3 1 Campbellsville (Ky.) 18-1 205

4 4 Westmont (Calif.) 13-2 195

5 5 Vanguard (Calif.) 10-2 190

6 6 Wayland Baptist (Texas) 12-2 182

7 7 Shawnee State (Ohio) 18-2 177

8 8 Central Methodist (Mo.) 14-1 175

9 15 Bethel (Tenn.) 14-4 163

10 18 Lyon (Ark.) 14-1 150

11 10 Talladega (Ala.) 13-4 144

12 14 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 15-3 143

13 9 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 11-5 135

14 17 Loyola (La.) 11-3 129

15 12 Columbia (Mo.) 12-3 123

16 16 Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) 13-5 120

17 25 Carroll (Mont.) 11-5 108

18 11 Montana State-Northern 13-3 102

19 23 Grand View (Iowa) 12-3 88

20 20 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 12-3 83

21 NR Clarke (Iowa) 14-3 77

22 24 Montana Western 10-5 63

23 NR LSU Shreveport (La.) 12-3 56

24 NR Martin Methodist (Tenn.) 11-4 50

25 13 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 9-5 48

Receiving Votes: Benedictine (Kan.) 45, William Penn (Iowa) 31, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 25, Mid-American Christian (Okla.) 17, Philander Smith (Ark.) 13, Rust (Miss.) 9, Lindenwood Belleville (Ill.) 7, Cumberlands (Ky.) 6, Pikeville (Ky.) 5, LSU Alexandria (La.) 5

(PHOTO: Bethel Lady Wildcats basketball – courtesy Bethel Sports Information Department)