Kansas City, Mo. - The Central Methodist women's basketball program moved to No. 15 in the fifth edition of the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll, released Wednesday afternoon by the national office.
Other Heart programs featured or mentioned in the Top 25 include No. 10 Clarke and (RV) Grand View.
The Eagles have won nine of their last 10 games dating back to Dec. 18, 2021, including a 7-1 record in the month of January. Their only loss this month came against, at the time, No. 12 Clarke University back on Jan. 22 in Dubuque. Central's success has put them atop the Heart South Divison standings with an 8-4 mark in conference play.
As a team, the Eagles rank in the top in the nation in Total Rebounds/Game (9th - 46.6), and Opponents' Field Goal Percentage (3rd - 31.9%). Eternati Willock leads the Eagles on the boards with 10 rebounds/game while Arleighshya McElroy leads all scorers with 20.2 points/game through 16 games played.
Central returns home to host Peru State College Saturday, Jan. 29 at 2:00 p.m. inside Puckett Field House.
To view the poll methodology and the complete Top 25 poll, please see below.
Poll Methodology
- The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Independents and Unaffiliated Groups.
- The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second place and so on through the list.
- The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered low ratings) is removed and the team's ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the team appears on.
- Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes."
| RANK | LAST TIME | SCHOOL [FIRST-PLACE VOTES] | RECORD | POINTS |
| 1 | 1 | Thomas More (Ky.) [20] | 18-1 | 591 |
| 2 | 2 | Southeastern (Fla.) [1] | 20-1 | 570 |
| 3 | 4 | The Master's (Calif.) | 22-0 | 554 |
| 4 | 3 | Campbellsville (Ky.) | 17-2 | 519 |
| 5 | 5 | Westmont (Calif.) | 16-3 | 505 |
| 6 | 7 | Marian (Ind.) | 18-2 | 499 |
| 7 | 6 | Carroll (Mont.) | 18-4 | 481 |
| 8 | 8 | Morningside (Iowa) | 17-3 | 456 |
| 9 | 10 | Sterling (Kan.) | 20-1 | 441 |
| 10 | 12 | Clarke (Iowa) | 20-2 | 401 |
| 11 | 11 | Indiana Wesleyan | 18-3 | 395 |
| 12 | 9 | Wayland Baptist (Texas) | 20-3 | 394 |
| 13 | 14 | Northwestern (Iowa) | 19-3 | 346 |
| 14 | 15 | Bryan (Tenn.) | 19-0 | 340 |
| 15 | 13 | Central Methodist (Mo.) | 17-4 | 320 |
| 16 | 22 | Providence (Mont.) | 20-3 | 282 |
| 17 | 17 | Indiana Tech | 20-2 | 280 |
| 18 | 15 | Rocky Mountain (Mont.) | 18-2 | 279 |
| 18 | 18 | Rio Grande (Ohio) | 20-1 | 279 |
| 20 | 23 | Saint Xavier (Ill.) | 14-5 | 212 |
| 21 | NR | Mid-America Christian (Okla.) | 18-2 | 174 |
| 22 | NR | Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) | 16-3 | 161 |
| 23 | 19 | Concordia (Neb.) | 12-9 | 158 |
| 24 | 21 | Dakota State (S.D.) | 16-7 | 125 |
| 25 | NR | Rust (Miss.) | 16-2 | 118 |
Dropped from Top 25: Loyola (La.), Vanguard (Calif.), Montana Western
Receiving Votes: Loyola (La.) 103, Columbia (Mo.) 95, Grand View (Iowa) 59, Vanguard (Calif.) 44, Dordt (Iowa) 44, Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 44, Lyon (Ark.) 24, Texas Wesleyan 23, St. Ambrose (Iowa) 19, Montana Western 10, Hope International (Calif.), Southern Oregon 5, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 5, Briar Cliff (Iowa) 4, Science & Arts of Oklahoma 4
#TakeFlight
