Women's Basketball ranked No. 5 in final WBCA poll

Women's Basketball ranked No. 5 in final WBCA poll
March 22, 2017

By Caleb Scott

ADA — The Ohio Northern women's basketball team was ranked No. 5 in the final Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll, released Mar. 20.

ONU reached the top-5 in the rankings for the first time since the 2012-13 season.

The Polar Bears posted a perfect 25-0 record in the regular season in 2016-17 to complete the first undefeated regular season in school history.

Northern reached the Elite 8 of the the NCAA Div. III Women's Basketball Tournament for the first time in school history.

ONU recorded a school-record 30 victories this season under the guidance of Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year and 16th-season head coach Michele Durand.

WBCA Poll - Final Rankings

Mar. 20, 2017

Rank School (First Place Votes) Points Record Previous
1. Amherst (Mass.) (8) 200 33-0 1
2. Tufts (Mass.) 192 30-3 4
3. St. Thomas (Minn.) 183 31-1 3
4. Christopher Newport (Va.) 177 29-3 7
5. Ohio Northern 165 30-1 5
6. Washington (Mo.) 157 26-3 6
7. Thomas More (Ky.) 146 28-1 2
8. Trinity (Tex.) 132 28-2 8
9. Whitman (Wash.) 131 26-5 14
10. Hope (Mich.) 124 24-4 15
11. Puget Sound (Wash.) 109 26-3 10
12. Wis.-Oshkosh 105 26-4 16
13. SUNY Geneseo 95 28-2 17

Scranton (Pa.) 95 26-4 13
15. DePauw (Ind.) 88 27-3 12
16. Montclair State (N.J.) 82 26-3 11
17. Wartburg (Iowa) 64 25-3 8
18. Trine (Ind.) 52 25-3 17
19. Mary Washington (Va.) 49 24-5 19
20. Mass.-Dartmouth 46 25-6 NR
21. Gustavus Adolphus (Minn.) 36 25-2 19
22. Marymount (Va.) 31 24-6 NR
23. Babson (Mass.) 30 24-6 NR
24. Bowdoin (Maine) 20 21-5 21
25. FDU-Floram 19 25-4 23
  Messiah (Pa.) 19 25-3 22
  Chicago (Ill.) 19 19-8 NR

Others receiving votes: George Fox (21-6) 9; Wheaton (IL) (24-5) 7; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (20-9) 4; Catholic (23-5) 2; SUNY-New Paltz (20-9) 2; Texas-Dallas (25-4) 2; Ithaca (NY) (25-4) 1