MORAVIAN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM JUMPS TO 14TH IN LATEST D3HOOPS.COM TOP 25 POLL

MINNEAPOLIS, MN --- The Moravian College women’s basketball team, which has a 12-1 overall record, has jumped four spots to 14th in the nation in the sixth 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 18th last week after being 21st in the poll released on December 23rd.  Moravian received in the first three weeks of the season.  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 3-0 in Landmark Conference action, received 271 points in the poll this week, 68 more points than last week.

The University of Rochester is ranked first in the nation for the four straight week with 616 points and 16 first-place votes while Illinois Wesleyan University is ranked second with 604 total points and nine first-place votes.

Moravian’s only loss of the season is an 80-58 setback at Rochester on November 22nd.  The Greyhounds defeated 18th-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 last week but received votes.

Moravian will return to action on Wednesday, January 14th when the Greyhounds host Ursinus College in a non-conference game at 7:00 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.