MORAVIAN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM MOVES UP TO 18TH IN LATEST D3HOOPS.COM TOP 25 POLL

MINNEAPOLIS, MN --- The Moravian College women’s basketball team, which has a 10-1 overall record, has moved up three spots to 18th in the nation in the fifth D3hoop.com Top 25 Poll of the season announced late Monday.  The complete poll can be viewed at http://www.d3hoops.com/top25/.

The Greyhounds, under the direction of 22-year head coach Mary Beth Spirk, were ranked 21st in the last poll on December 23rd after receiving votes the prior three weeks.  The last time Moravian was nationally ranked by D3hoops.com was during the 2005-06 season when the team reached the NCAA Division III National Tournament. 

Moravian, which is 1-0 in Landmark Conference action, received 203 points in the poll this week, 66 more points than two weeks ago.

The University of Rochester is ranked first in the nation for the third straight week with 609 points and 13 first-place votes while Illinois Wesleyan University is ranked second with 605 total points and ten first-place votes.

Moravian’s only loss of the season is an 80-58 setback at Rochester on November 22nd.  The Greyhounds defeated 12th-ranked DeSales University, 67-63 on November 25th in Johnston Hall with DeSales ranked ninth at the time of the game, and Moravian defeated then 14th-ranked Muhlenberg College, 98-87, December 15th in Allentown.  The Mules dropped out of the poll this week.

Moravian will return to action on Friday, January 9th when the Greyhounds host Juniata College in a Landmark Conference game at 5:30 p.m. in Johnston Hall.

The D3hoops.com Top 25 poll is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.