By: Christina Cracolici, Director of Athletic Communications
GORHAM, Maine – Extending its win streak to 11 games last week, the University of Southern Maine Huskies' women's basketball team steadily remains in the "Also Receiving Votes" category of both the D3hoop.scom and WBCA Division III National Polls. The Huskies have been in the ARV category for the D3hoops.com poll six times this season (Nov. 23, Nov. 30, Dec. 7, Dec. 14, Jan. 4, Jan. 13 and Jan. 20), and have appeared in the WBCA poll four times (Nov. 25, Jan. 6 Jan. 13, Jan. 20).
Moving to 14-1 overall and staying undefeated in the Little East Conference at 7-0 with wins over UMass Dartmouth (81-54) and Eastern Connecticut (76-62), Southern Maine's loss came at the hands of No.13/No. 10 Bates College on November 25 in overtime 70-66. The Huskies are 7-0 at home on Fifield Court and 7-1 on the road and begin a three-game road swing tonight at non-conference opponent Thomas College. Southern Maine is back in action Wednesday (5:30 pm) at Plymouth State and Saturday (1:00 pm) at WestConn.
Averaging 3.7 points per game and shooting 43.4 percent from the field as a team, the Huskies lead the Little East Conference in scoring defense and are holding their opponents to 51.9 points per game for a 21.8 margin of victory. As a team, USM is averaging 14.8 assists per game and lead the LEC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.11) and are 20
th in NCAA Division III women's basketball. The Huskies' team field goal percentage is 19
th in NCAA, while their scoring defense (51.9 ppg) and scoring margin (21.8) is ranked 26
th and 16
th respectively.
A trio of Huskies are averaging double-figures: senior Jaycie Christopher (Skowhegan, Maine) and sophomores Lucy Wiles (Glenburn, Maine/Hampden Academy) and Dakota Shipley (Bath, Maine/Brunswick). Christopher leads the LEC at 19.1 points per game, while Wiles' 15.9 points. And Shipley's 12.3 points per game are fifth and 13
th overall. Graduate student Liz Cote (Conway, NH/Kennett) and senior Avah Ingalls (Hampstead, NH/Pinkerton Academy) are chipping in at 8.1 and 7.5 points per game.
Southern Maine (14-1, 7-0 Little East) is on a three-game road trip, heading to Thomas College in non-conference action on Tuesday, January 20 (5:30 pm), and then Plymouth State and WestConn in Little East action on Wednesday, January 21 (5:30 pm) and Saturday, January 24 (1:00 pm), respectively.
D3hoops.com women's Top 25, Week 7 – January 20
Dropped out: No. 21 Bethel, No. 25 Christopher Newport
Others receiving votes: Bethel 40; McDaniel 30; UW-La Crosse 22; Southern Maine 21; Coe 17; Christopher Newport 12; Hardin-Simmons 10; McMurry 9; Bridgewater 8; Trinity (Conn.) 6; Calvin 5; Linfield 5; SUNY New Paltz 5; Brandeis 2; East Texas Baptist 2; William Paterson 2; Cal Lutheran 1; Springfield 1; Susquehanna 1; Wartburg 1
The
D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.
WBCA Division III Women's Basketball Top 25 – January 20
The WBCA NCAA Division III Top 25 women's basketball coaches' poll, with teams' RECORDS THROUGH SUNDAY in parentheses, total points based on 25 for first place through one point for 25th, ranking in last week's poll, and first-place votes received.
School (record) |
Total
Points |
Last Week's
Rank |
First-Place Votes |
|
| 1 |
NYU (12-0) |
250 |
1 |
10 |
| 2 |
Scranton (13-0) |
239 |
2 |
0 |
| 3 |
Smith (12-0) |
226 |
3 |
0 |
| 4 |
UW-Oshkosh (14-0) |
218 |
4 |
0 |
| 5 |
Johns Hopkins (13-0) |
209 |
5 |
0 |
| 6 |
Washington and Lee (13-0) |
193 |
6 |
0 |
| 7 |
UW-Whitewater (12-2) |
174 |
8 |
0 |
| 8 |
Emory (11-1) |
163 |
9 |
0 |
| 9t |
Bowdoin (11-1) |
159 |
10 |
0 |
| 9t |
Hope (12-2) |
159 |
7 |
0 |
| 11 |
John Carroll (12-1) |
151 |
11 |
0 |
| 12 |
Bates (13-1) |
134 |
12 |
0 |
| 13 |
Washington-St. Louis (10-2) |
121 |
14 |
0 |
| 14 |
Ohio Wesleyan (12-1) |
116 |
13 |
0 |
| 15 |
Baldwin-Wallace (12-2) |
92 |
16t |
0 |
| 16 |
Denison (14-0) |
91 |
16t |
0 |
| 17 |
Christopher Newport (15-3) |
79 |
19 |
0 |
| 18 |
Illinois Wesleyan (10-4) |
68 |
20 |
0 |
| 19 |
Ripon (13-2) |
51 |
21 |
0 |
| 20 |
Chicago (8-3) |
42 |
18 |
0 |
| 21 |
William Paterson (13-1) |
37 |
23 |
0 |
| 22 |
UW-Platteville (13-1) |
35 |
RV |
0 |
| 23t |
Carroll, WI (10-4) |
31 |
24t |
0 |
| 23t |
Trinity, CT (11-4) |
31 |
15 |
0 |
| 25 |
SUNY-Cortland (10-2) |
27 |
RV |
0 |
Dropped out: No. 22 Amherst (9-3); No. 24t Bethel, MN (10-3)
Others receiving votes: Bethel, MN (10-3) 22; East Texas Baptist (14-4) 18; Trine (11-3) 17; Shenandoah (11-2) 14; Cal Lutheran (12-2) 12; UW-Eau Claire (11-3) 12; Southern Maine (12-1) 11; Amherst (9-3) 8; Redlands (10-2) 8; Concordia-Moorhead (14-4) 7; Linfield (10-2) 5; UW-Stout (10-4) 5; UW-La Crosse (8-6) 4; Texas Lutheran (9-4) 3; Centre, KY (13-1) 2; Coe (12-3) 2; Hardin-Simmons (12-3) 2; Puget Sound (11-2) 1; Susquehanna (11-2) 1.
The WBCA NCAA Division III Coaches Poll Committee is composed of one head coach from each of the 10 NCAA Division III regions. The committee for the 2025-26 season: Samantha Crough, Regis (MA); Brad Fischer, UW-Oshkosh; Eric Harrison, Lehman; Jasen Jonus, Oglethorpe; Melissa Kolbe, Wittenberg; Casey Kushiyama, Puget Sound; Bobbi Morgan, Ursinus; Mia Smith, Illinois Wesleyan; Daphne Thompson, SUNY Oneonta; Kelly Thompson, Roger Williams.
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