Pride hold steady at No. 14 in final NAIA Coaches' Poll of 2021-22

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In the final rankings release of the season, the Clarke University women's basketball team remains at their No. 14 ranking in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25 poll, NAIA officials released on Wednesday morning.

This ranking comes on the heels of the Pride clinching the outright title of Heart of America Athletic Conference Regular Season Champions following their 17-2 record in Heart play and a 26-4 overall record. Those 26 wins breaks the previously held record for wins in a season of 25 that was set during the 2019-20 season, their first of back-to-back trips to the NAIA Quarterfinals during the National Championship Tournament.

Over the regular season, CU averaged 74.7 points per game and shot 44.1 percent from the field over the 30 regular season games as they also shot exactly 44.1 percent over their 19 conference games. On the defensive end, the allowed just 60.5 points per game over the entire season and ramped it up in conference play to allowing 57.7 points per game with an opponents' shooting percentage finishing at 36.3 percent overall.

On the individual side, Clarke finished with five players scoring in double figures led by senior center Emma Kelchen's 12.4 points per game as she also leads the team in rebounding at 7.4 rebounds per game. Nicole McDermott (11.8), Giana Michels (11.0), Taylor Haase (10.4), Tina Ubl (10.3) all finished the regular season scoring in double figures with McDermott, Michels, and Ubl mainstays in the starting lineup while Haase is the first woman of the bench for the Pride.

Postseason play will begin for Clarke women's basketball this Thursday when they host Evangel University in the Heart Tournament Quarterfinals at the Kehl Center for a 6:00 p.m. scheduled tip.