Tuesday, February 21, 2006

MORAVIAN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM BACK IN RANKINGS AT 24TH IN D3HOOPS.COM 12th REGULAR SEASON TOP 25 POLL

STERLING, VA --- The Moravian College women’s basketball team, which is 20-5 this season, jumped back into the top 25 at 24th in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll 12th regular season poll announced Monday. The complete poll can be viewed at http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/.

The Greyhounds, under the direction of 19-year head coach Mary Beth Spirk, were ranked 19th in the preseason poll, 15th in the first regular season poll and 12th in the second poll of the year. Moravian was ranked 18th in the third and fourth polls prior to slipping to 20th. The team had moved back up to 17th in the sixth poll and 16th in the seventh poll before a pair of losses dropped the squad from the rankings.

The Greyhounds returned to the top 25 three weeks ago at 19th before falling out again for the last two weeks. Moravian received 53 points in the poll. Moravian has won 20 of its first 25 games of the year by an average of 10.9 points, and the team was 11-3 in Commonwealth Conference regular season action.

The University of Southern Maine retained the top spot in the nation with 20 first-place votes and 619 points. The University of Scranton is second with 597 points and one first-place vote.

Moravian dropped a 67-62 decision to Scranton on Wednesday, December 7th in Johnston Hall. The Greyhounds defeated ninth-ranked Messiah College, 67-63, on January 25th in Johnston Hall, and lost to the Falcons, 69-55, on February 11th. The Greyhounds’ also suffered a 66-59 setback to rival Muhlenberg College, which is ranked 15th this week.

Moravian will return to action in a Commonwealth Conference Semifinal game versus Widener University on Wednesday, February 22nd in Johnston Hall at 7:00 p.m.