Storm continue move up national rankings
INDIANOLA, Iowa - The Sipmson women's basketball team moved up to No. 13 in the USA TODAY Sports Top 25 Coaches' poll and No. 14 in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, which were released earlier this week.
The Storm improved two spots in the USA TODAY Sports poll and one in the D3hoops.com poll after being ranked 15th in both a week ago.
Simpson received 101 points in the USA TODAY Sports Top 25 Coaches' Poll, which is voted on by nine head coaches at Division III institutions who are members of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).
Simpson received 296 points in the D3hoops.com Top 25 poll, which is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors and media members across the country.
The Storm are 9-0 on the season after beating UW-River Falls last Saturday, a team which beat Simpson twice last season. Simpson came away with the 67-62 win despite playing without the services of the team's leading scorer and rebounder, Kate Nielsen.
Head coach Brian Niemuth and his squad will face their biggest test of the season at the Land of Magic Classic in Daytona Beach, Fla. on Dec. 28. There, Simpson opens against the No. 7 Amherst Lord Jeffs of Amherst, Mass. One of the most dominant programs in the history of Division III women's basketball, Amherst is 8-0 this season and has made four straight trips to the Final Four, winning a national championship in 2011.
Tipoff against the Lord Jeffs is set for 1 p.m. CST/2 p.m. EST. Simpson closes the trip against 8-1 Kenyon at 11 a.m./Noon on Dec. 29.
Tournament host Embry-Riddle will provide live video and live stats throughout the tournament. Links can be accessed at the tournament page at erauathletics.com.
D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll, Week 4
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Rec | Pts | Prev |
| 1 | DePauw (24) | 7-0 | 623 | 1 |
| 2 | Mount Union | 8-0 | 583 | 2 |
| 3 | Calvin (1) | 7-1 | 522 | 3 |
| 4 | St. Thomas | 7-1 | 513 | 4 |
| 5 | Washington U. | 8-1 | 511 | 5 |
| 6 | Lewis and Clark | 10-0 | 500 | 6 |
| 7 | Hope | 8-0 | 489 | 7 |
| 8 | Messiah | 8-0 | 448 | 8 |
| 9 | Amherst | 8-0 | 406 | 9 |
| 10 | Tufts | 9-0 | 390 | 10 |
| 11 | Thomas More | 9-1 | 372 | 11 |
| 12 | York (Pa.) | 8-0 | 346 | 14 |
| 13 | Leaganon Valley | 7-1 | 297 | 13 |
| 14 | Simpson | 9-0 | 296 | 15 |
| 15 | Ohio Northern | 9-1 | 217 | 17 |
| 16 | Southern Maine | 9-0 | 194 | 19 |
| 17 | Emmanuel | 8-1 | 175 | 20 |
| 18 | UW-Whitewater | 8-3 | 148 | 16 |
| 19 | UW-Stevens Point | 6-3 | 147 | 12 |
| 20 | Babson | 8-0 | 142 | 21 |
| 21 | George Fox | 5-2 | 129 | 22 |
| 22 | Montclair State | 10-0 | 122 | 23 |
| 23 | Monmouth | 9-0 | 103 | 24 |
| 24 | Louisiana College | 8-0 | 84 | 25 |
| 25 | Moravian | 9-0 | 70 | -- |
USA TODAY Sports Top 25 Coaches' Poll, Week 5
| Rank | School (1st votes) | Prev | Rec | Pts |
| 1 | Depauw (8) | 1 | 7-0 | 200 |
| 2 | Mount Union | 2 | 8-0 | 191 |
| 3 | Calvin | 3 | 7-1 | 183 |
| 4 | St. Thomas | 4 | 7-1 | 174 |
| 5 | Washington U. | 5 | 8-1 | 169 |
| 6 | Lewis and Clark | 6 | 10-0 | 156 |
| 7 | Amherst | 7 | 8-0 | 154 |
| 8 | Messiah | 8 | 9-0 | 146 |
| 9 | Hope | 9 | 8-0 | 139 |
| 10 | Tufts | 10 | 9-0 | 124 |
| 11 | York (Pa.) | 11 | 8-0 | 119 |
| 12 | Labanon Valley | 13 | 8-1 | 107 |
| 13 | Simpson | 15 | 9-0 | 101 |
| 14 | Thomas More | 14 | 9-1 | 100 |
| 15 | Babson | 16 | 8-0 | 87 |
| 16 | Emmanuel | 18 | 8-1 | 68 |
| 17 | UW-Whitewater | 17 | 8-3 | 59 |
| 18 | Emory | 19 | 8-1 | 54 |
| 19 | Ohio Northern | 22 | 9-1 | 53 |
| 20 | UW-Stevens Point | 12 | 6-3 | 48 |
| 21 | Catholic | t20 | 7-0 | 43 |
| 22 | George Fox | 23 | 5-2 | 29 |
| 23 | Monmouth | 24 | 9-0 | 28 |
| 24 | Montclair State | 25 | 10-0 | 25 |
| 25 | Moravian | NR | 9-0 | 15 |
