By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
For the sixth straight bi-weekly poll and eighth in the last 10, Thomas More women’s basketball is the No. 1 ranked team in the NAIA as one of just two unbeaten Top 25 teams at 21-0. Right behind the Saints is the other, 19-0 Central Methodist. In the No. 3 spot is a Campbellsville team (19-1) TMU beat at home but must face Saturday on the road.
Since the last poll Jan. 11, TMU has beaten Cumberland (Tenn.) 65-60, Tennessee Southern and Cumberlands (Ky.) 76-42 while beating Georgetown 79-51 at home. The Cumberlands’ win was TMU’s sixth over a ranked opponent. The Saints are 15-0 in the Mid-South Conference and have a 27-game winning streak going back to last season.
Leading the Saints as she has for her whole career is senior Zoie Barth, who led TMU in scoring three of the last four games. But she’s had plenty of help from the likes of senior starter Courtney Hurst and junior backup Kelly Brenner who have each had breakout games. And as always, senior Emily Simon contributed with her fourth double-double this last week.
Zoe Barth
Thomas More is fifth in the country with a 37.3 percent three-point shooting mark and ninth in field-goal percentage at 45.6 percent. On defense, TMU allows just 8.6 assists a game, fourth-best in the NAIA while allowing a mere 5.6 steals a game, tied for third nationally.
TMU takes on Lindsey Wilson College Thursday night at home at 5:30. The Saints beat the Blue Raiders on the road on January 7, 70-56. They then head to No. 3 Campbellsville for a second showdown this month in a 1 p.m. game Saturday.
NAIA WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POLL
RANK LAST TIME SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] RECORD POINTS
1 1 Thomas More (Ky.) [21] 21-0 591
2 2 Central Methodist (Mo.) 19-0 571
3 4 Campbellsville (Ky.) 19-1 550
4 3 Dordt (Iowa) 19-1 527
5 5 Westmont (Calif.) 17-1 525
6 6 Marian (Ind.) 19-2 486
7 7 Indiana Wesleyan 18-3 470
8 8 Clarke (Iowa) 18-2 460
9 10 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 18-1 448
10 9 Loyola (La.) 17-1 416
11 18 Carroll (Mont.) 16-5 364
12 14 Indiana Tech 17-3 356
13 11 Rio Grande (Ohio) 18-3 348
14 13 Vanguard (Calif.) 14-4 345
15 12 Montana Western 18-3 334
16 16 Eastern Oregon 17-2 330
17 17 Texas Wesleyan 18-2 284
18 21 Briar Cliff (Iowa) 15-5 275
19 19 Science & Arts (Okla.) 18-2 239
20 15 Northwestern (Iowa) 14-5 202
21 NR Pikeville (Ky.) 16-4 201
22 20 Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 15-5 175
23 25 Rust (Miss.) 13-3 169
24 22 Sterling (Kan.) 15-4 154
25 23 Southern Oregon 14-5 110
Dropped from the Top 25: Cumberlands (Ky.)
Receiving Votes: Cumberlands (Ky.) 102, IU South Bend (Ind.) 97, Texas A&M Texarkana 54, Dakota State (S.D.) 53, Mid-America Christian (Okla.) 33, Grand View (Iowa) 32, Faulkner (Ala.) 22, Jamestown (N.D.) 22, Oakland City (Ind.) 15, Menlo (Calif.) 15, Grace (Ind.) 13, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 7, LSU Shreveport (La.) 4, Bryan (Tenn.) 3.
TMU MEN DROP TO NO. 22 THIS WEEK
With a 1-3 record the last two weeks since the previous poll had them at No. 10, Thomas More’s Saints are now No. 22 after a 71-57 win Saturday win at Cumberlands (Ky.). TMU had a pair of close, disappointing losses in Tennessee a week ago, falling to Cumberland, 78-75, and Tennessee Southern, 80-74. The Saints then fell short in a 72-61 home loss to now-No. 10-ranked Georgetown.
In their win, the Saints got big offensive production from sophomore Casey George’s second double-double joining junior Reid Jolly, who scored 21 points, his 10th 20-point-plus game of the season, and sophomore point guard Jacob Jones, who also had 21.
TMU takes on Lindsey Wilson Thursday in the Connor Convocation Center at 7:30 p.m. The Saints beat the Blue Raiders, 78-72, on the road January 7. Then on Saturday, TMU heads to Campbellsville for a 3 p.m. game.
Reid Jolly
College of Idaho and Oklahoma Wesleyan remained 1-2 in the fifth edition of the Top 25 poll. maintained its position as the No. 1 team in the nation in the fifth edition of the Top 25.
NAIA MEN’S BASKETBALL COACHES’ TOP 25 POLL
RANK LAST WEEK SCHOOL [1st Place Votes] RECORD FINAL POINTS
1 1 College of Idaho [18] 18-1 559
2 2 Oklahoma Wesleyan [2] 19-1 543
3 3 Langston (Okla.) 18-1 513
4 5 Arizona Christian 17-4 483
5 9 Union (Ky.) 19-1 472
6 7 Indiana Wesleyan 16-5 456
7 6 Grace (Ind.) 18-3 447
8 11 Indiana Tech 17-3 441
9 13 William Penn (Iowa) 18-2 434
10 15 Georgetown (Ky.) 18-3 401
11 14 Jamestown (N.D.) 17-3 391
12 12 Montana Tech 18-3 341
13 17 Kansas Wesleyan 18-2 327
14 8 Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 16-5 295
15 22 Loyola (La.) 16-3 288
16 19 Faulkner (Ala.) 17-3 278
16 16 Marian (Ind.) 17-4 278
18 20 Morningside (Iowa) 16-3 272
19 18 Evangel (Mo.) 17-3 260
20 21 Florida College 16-3 228
21 4 Southwestern (Kan.) 16-4 211
22 10 Thomas More (Ky.) 15-5 180
23 25 Iowa Wesleyan 19-1 153
24 RV Texas A&M Texarkana 16-4 107
25 RV Antelope Valley (Calif.) 18-1 84
Dropped from the Top 25: LSU Shreveport (La.), Menlo (Calif.)
Others Receiving Votes: Ottawa (Ariz.) 74, LSU Shreveport (La.)43, Saint Xavier (Ill.) 43, Madonna (Mich.) 28, Shawnee State (Ohio) 27, Dordt (Iowa) 26, The Master’s (Calif.) 26, Thomas (Ga.) 25, Huntington (Ind.) 22, Tougaloo (Miss.) 20, Rio Grande (Ohio) 13, Eastern Oregon 12, St. Thomas (Fla.) 11, Mayville State (N.D.) 10, Wayland Baptist (Texas) 10, UNT Dallas (Texas) 8, Hope International (Calif.) 7, Northwestern (Iowa) 4, Olivet Nazarene (Ill.) 4, Lourdes (Ohio) 3.
