Storm move closer to top-10 ranking
INDIANOLA, Iowa – The Simpson women's basketball squad is on the verge of becoming a top-10 team.
The Storm (11-1) moved up two spots to No. 11 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Division III Top 25 Coaches' Poll, which included games played through Jan. 6. Simpson was No. 13 when the last poll was released on Dec. 18 and is 2-1 since that time. The team's lone loss was a 62-60 setback against then-No. 7 Amherst (12-0), which has since ascended to No. 5.
The ranking is Simpson's highest in the poll since also coming in at No. 11 on March 3, 2009.
Head coach Brian Niemuth's team also improved two spots in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll and is now No. 14. The Storm were ranked 14th on Dec. 16, but slipped to 16th after the Amherst loss.
The Storm travel to Decorah, Iowa to face Luther on Wednesday, Jan. 9. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
USA TODAY Sports Division III Top 25 Coaches' Poll
| No. | School (1st votes) | Prev | Rec | Pts |
| 1 | DePauw (8) | 1 | 13-0 | 200 |
| 2 | Calvin | 3 | 11-1 | 191 |
| 3 | St. Thomas | 4 | 10-1 | 183 |
| 4 | Washington U. | 5 | 11-1 | 178 |
| 5 | Amherst | 7 | 12-0 | 167 |
| 6 | Hope | 9 | 13-0 | 155 |
| 7 | Messiah | 8 | 12-1 | 149 |
| 8 | Tufts | 10 | 13-0 | 147 |
| 9 | Lewis and Clark | 6 | 12-1 | 133 |
| 10 | Thomas More | 14 | 12-1 | 121 |
| 11 | Simpson | 13 | 11-1 | 116 |
| 12 | Ohio Northern | 19 | 12-1 | 110 |
| 13 | Catholic | 21 | 13-0 | 89 |
| 14 | UW-Whitewater | 17 | 11-3 | 80 |
| 15 | UW-Stevens Point | 20 | 11-3 | 75 |
| 16 | Montclair State | 24 | 14-0 | 69 |
| 17 | Emory | 18 | 11-1 | 66 |
| 18 | Lebanon Valley | 12 | 11-2 | 65 |
| 19 | York (Pa.) | 11 | 11-2 | 50 |
| 20 | Mount Union | 2 | 10-3 | 46 |
| 21 | Babson | 15 | 10-1 | 44 |
| 22 | Southern Maine | NR | 13-0 | 39 |
| 23 | Cornell | NR | 12-0 | 35 |
| 24 | Whitman | NR | 11-1 | 23 |
| 25 | George Fox | 22 | 10-3 | 20 |
D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll
| No. | School (1st votes) | Rec | Pts | Prev |
| 1 | DePauw (24) | 13-0 | 623 | 1 |
| 2 | Calvin (1) | 11-1 | 574 | 2 |
| 3 | Washington U. | 11-1 | 567 | 3 |
| 4 | St. Thomas | 9-1 | 537 | 4 |
| 5 | Hope | 13-0 | 536 | 6 |
| 6 | Amherst | 12-0 | 497 | 7 |
| 7 | Messiah | 12-1 | 438 | 8 |
| 8 | Tufts | 13-0 | 424 | 9 |
| 9 | Ohio Northern | 12-1 | 412 | 12 |
| 10 | Lewis and Clark | 12-1 | 389 | 5 |
| 11 | Thomas More | 12-1 | 380 | 10 |
| 12 | Montclair State | 14-0 | 335 | 14 |
| 13 | Southern Maine | 13-0 | 306 | 15 |
| 14 | Simpson | 11-1 | 302 | 16 |
| 15 | UW-Whitewater | 11-3 | 206 | 17 |
| 16 | UW-Stevens Point | 1103 | 202 | 18 |
| 17 | Catholic | 12-0 | 182 | 20 |
| 18 | York (Pa.) | 11-1 | 172 | 11 |
| 19 | Whitman | 11-1 | 163 | NR |
| 20 | Lebanon Valley | 11-2 | 126 | 19 |
| 21 | Cornell | 12-0 | 123 | 23 |
| 22 | Babson | 10-1 | 107 | 22 |
| 23 | Christopher Newport | 11-0 | 87 | 25 |
| 24 | Mount Union | 10-3 | 78 | 13 |
| 25 | George Fox | 10-3 | 62 | 24 |
