Latest NAIA Rankings have Pride women's basketball still at No. 4

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Finishing off the 2023 calendar with their 11th appearance in the NAIA Top 10 in the last 12 polls, the Clarke University women's basketball landed at the No. 4 spot in the NAIA Top 25 Coaches' Poll for the third-straight poll this season.

The Pride currently sit at a 9-0 overall record and a 6-0 start in the Heart of America Athletic Conference to carry over a winning streak of 15 games dating back to the start of the NAIA Tournament last season as the rest of the top five in the NAIA remains the same but in a slightly different order at the top.

The new No. 1 team in the poll is Dordt University, who jumped up from No. 2 after the previous No. 1 team, Campbellsville University, dropped a home game to the then No. 3 and now No. 2 team in the poll Indiana Wesleyan as both Clarke and Carroll College held their spots at No. 4 and No. 5.

CU and Dordt are two of just five teams without a loss on their record so far in the 2023-24 season as Georgetown College (No. 9), Rocky Mountain College (No. 12), and Indiana University South Bend (No. 21) join the two teams in the top four without a blemish on their record.

The Pride are at the top of the Heart standings through six games as the only other team in the conference that found the top 25 is Grand View University, who sits at No. 22 following a 9-1 start to the season as the Vikings will host CU to open the 2024 portion of the schedule when Clarke heads to Des Moines, Iowa on Wednesday, Jan. 3 for a 5:30 p.m. tip between ranked foes.

As a team, Clarke is currently averaging 80.7 points per game while shooting 46 percent from the field and 40.8 percent from three point range while holding their opponents under 65 points per game on average (63.6), under 35 percent shooting from the field (34%), and unver 30 percent from three point range (25.6%).

Their offensive is being led by the three-headed monster of Mya Merschman, Nicole McDermott, and Taylor Haase as the trio is all averaging career-high point totals led by Merschman's team-high 16.6 points per game as she's shooting team-high percentages from the field (52.5%), from three point range (53.3%), and just below her career-high from the free throw line at 87.5 percent. 

McDermott and Haase are nearly matching each other with their scoring and rebounding averages as McDermott is averaging a double-double with 15.7 points per game and 10.8 rebounds per game, both career-highs, while Haase is also at her best career scoring and rebounding marks at 15.3 points per game and 9.2 rebounds per game.

Clarke women's basketball will be on the court tonight when they travel to Canton, Mo. to take on Culver-Stockton College for a 5:30 p.m. CT tip before ending the calendar year with a pair of home games against MidAmerica Nazarene on Jan. 16 and St. Ambrose University on Dec. 22.