NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll

Lubbock Christian claims No. 1 preseason ranking

October 23, 2012

By Alan Grosbach, NAIA Manager of Communications and Sports Information

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Lubbock Christian (Texas) boasts the top ranking in the 2012-13 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. The Lady Chaparrals, who are coming off a 28-6 season and their first Fab Four appearance, received nine first-place votes and 280 total points. This is the ninth-straight top 10 ranking and the first ever No.1 for Lubbock Christian.

Shawnee State (Ohio) gathered 269 points en route to the No. 2 spot, while third-ranked Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.), who returns NAIA All-Americans Natalie Shumpert and Maria Bagwell, gathered the remaining two first-place votes and 266 points. No. 4 Vanguard (Calif.) and fifth-ranked Westminster (Utah) round-out the top five with 251 and 240 points, respectively.

There are seven newcomers based upon the 2011-12 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Postseason Top 25 - No. 17 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), No. 19 LSU Shreveport (La.), No. 21 Columbia (Mo.), No. 22 Bethel (Tenn.), No. 23 William Woods (Mo.), No. 24 Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) and No. 25 Faulkner (Ala.). Both Our Lady of the Lake and Faulkner are making their first-ever appearance in the national rating (since 1999-2000).

Defending national champion Oklahoma City takes home the 10th position, which is the lowest rating for the Stars since they were No. 12 in the 2008-09 Final Coaches' Top 25 Poll (March 11, 2009).

The Mid-South Conference leads all conferences with five teams in the Top 25 (Shawnee State, No. 6 Georgetown (Ky.), No. 13 Campbellsville (Ky.), Lindsey Wilson and No. 18 Cumberlands (Ky.)), while the Sooner Athletic Conference, Golden State Athletic Conference and Red River Athletic Conference are second with three teams each. Eleven conference/unaffiliated groups are represented in the preseason poll.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated group. The first regular-season Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll will be announced on Dec. 4. The regular season tips off Nov. 1 for the Lady Chaps, as they host Texas-Permian Basin.

Notes: (all information dates back to 1999-2000) Top-ranked Lubbock Christian (Texas) becomes the third different team in the last five seasons to grab the No. 1 preseason spot ... The top billing is a first for the Lady Chaparrals, who have been ranked amongst the top 10 in nine-straight polls ... Four programs have topped the poll 10-or-more times: former NAIA member Union (Tenn.) (53), Oklahoma City (45), Vanguard (Calif.) (27) and former NAIA member Southern Nazarene (Okla.) (15) ... Defending national champion Oklahoma City holds down the No. 12 position, its lowest ranking since March 11, 2009 ... Since the start of the 1999-2000 season, only Oklahoma City and No. 2 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) have be listed in all 154 polls ... Fourth-ranked Vanguard has appeared in 121 consecutive polls ... No. 24 Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) and No. 25 Faulkner (Ala.) are making their first-ever appearance in the Top 25 ... No. 19 LSU Shreveport (La.) was last ranked on Feb. 9, 2009 ... Union and Vanguard are the only programs that have spent an entire season ranked No. 1 (Union: 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) (Vanguard: 2005-06, 2006-07).

2012-13 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll - (Oct. 23)

Others receiving votes: Loyola (La.) 37; Robert Morris (Ill.) 37; The Master's (Calif.) 35; Lyon (Ark.) 32; Cumberland (Tenn.) 26; Talladega (Ala.) 25; Carroll (Mont.) 18; Oklahoma Baptist 14; San Diego Christian (Calif.) 8; Benedictine (Kan.) 5; Cal State San Marcos 3.

^ Ranking indicated in 2011-12 Postseason Top 25 Poll (March 26, 2012)