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