MORAVIAN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM FALLS TO 21ST IN LATEST D3HOOPS.COM TOP 25 POLL

MINNEAPOLIS, MN --- The Moravian College women’s basketball team, which has a 14-2 overall record, has dropped seven spots to 21st in the nation in the seventh 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 14th last week after being 18th in the first poll of 2009 on January 5th.  Moravian was 21st in the poll released on December 23rd after receiving votes 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 4-1 in Landmark Conference action, received 142 points in the poll this week, 129 less points than last week after suffering a 66-61 loss at The Catholic University of America last Friday evening.  The loss snapped the Greyhounds’ 11-game winning streak.

The University of Rochester is ranked first in the nation for the four straight week with 616 points and 19 first-place votes while Illinois Wesleyan University is ranked second with 604 total points and six first-place votes.

Moravian’s only other loss this season is an 80-58 setback at Rochester on November 22nd.  The Greyhounds defeated 16th-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 returned to the rankings this week at 25th.

Moravian will return to action on Saturday, January 24th when the Greyhounds host Drew University 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.