Women's Basketball | 02/28/24 | 9:45 AM

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) has released the final edition of the 2023-24 NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Rating. The Carroll College Women's Basketball team checks in at No. 6 on the final rating.

The Fighting Saints (23-4, 14-1) are in the middle of perhaps the greatest run in the program's 50-year history. For the second time in the last four seasons, the Saints find themselves as the No. 6 team in the nation, as voted on by the coaches, at the end of the season (No. 6 - Feb. 24, 2021).

The outright Frontier Conference Champions are playing some excellent ball, and enter this weekend's Frontier Tournament riding an eight game win streak dating back to mid-January.

Carroll has only four losses on the year, with three coming at the hands of teams also inside the top-25 (No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan, No. 14 Providence, No. 16 Indiana Tech). 

They continue to be the highest-rated Frontier Conference team in the poll, with No. 14 Providence being the league's only other representative on the list.

The rating, paired with a potential Frontier Tournament title this weekend, Carroll's No. 1 ranking in the West ARC (Area Ranking Committee), No. 5 RPI (Rating per Index) and No. 4 Strength of Schedule give the Saints a legitimate shot at being named a top overall seed in the upcoming NAIA National Tournament.

Carroll has appeared within the top-25 on every poll dating back to the Preseason Coaches' Poll in the 2017-18 season, far and away the longest ranked-run of any team in the Frontier Conference in that time span.

The Saints will await the results of Thursday's opening round games and will play the lowest remaining seed on Friday, March 1 at 5 p.m. at the Four Seasons Arena in the semifinals of the Frontier Conference Tournament.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com for a preview of that tournament, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.

Rating Methodology

• The rating was rated by a panel of head coaches representing each conference/Continental Athletic Conference (Independents)/unaffiliated groups.
• The Coaches' 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 a low rating) 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 teams appear on.
• Teams that receive only one point on the ballot are not considered "receiving votes"
• For the complete women's basketball ratings calendar, CLICK HERE.

Dropped from the Top 25: Reinhardt (Ga.), Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.)

Receiving Votes: Reinhardt (Ga.) 101; Rust (Miss.) 63; Briar Cliff (Iowa) 54; Spring Arbor (Mich.) 53; Columbia (Mo.) 36; Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) 34; The Master's (Calif.) 30; Bryan (Tenn.) 29; Langston (Okla.) 24; Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 19; Stephens (Mo.) 15; Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 10; Siena Heights (Mich.) 9; Oakland City (Ind.) 8; Southeastern (Fla.) 5; College of the Ozarks (Mo.) 4; Tabor (Kan.) 3