Lady Lions Jump to #2, Wildcats at #3, Lady Tigers at #4 in Newest NAIA Poll

1/28/2026 1:58:30 PM

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The Freed-Hardeman Lady Lions leapt over both Bethel (Tenn.) and Campbellsville (Ky.) after besting both, coming in at #2 in the NAIA Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Wednesday.

Along with those two huge conference wins since the prior iteration of the national ranking, the Lady Lions swept the Mid-South Conference Players of the Week this week: Jenna Satterly (Offensive) and Ally Weathers (Defensive). Satterly had 23 points and seven rebounds in the victory over the Wildcats and Weathers grabbed eight rebounds and snagged a steal in that same contest. Freed-Hardeman held Bethel to nearly 20 points below their season average and a season-low 32.2% shooting from the field.

The #3 Wildcats may have lost to the Lady Lions most recently, but prior to that they defeated both #4 Campbellsville in overtime and then #24 Lindsey Wilson, both times in their opponent's gym. Sophomore Micah Hart reached the 1,000 point mark for Bethel in the same week she was honored as NAIA Women's Basketball Offensive Player of the Week.

The #4 Lady Tigers of Campbellsville University are 2-2 in their last four contests, having dropped those bouts against the Lady Lions and the Wildcats. The Cumberlands Patriots stepped back a single spot to #15 despite being victorious in both of their games since the prior poll: an eight-point win over (RV) Cumberland (Tenn.) and a four-point victory over (RV) Georgetown (Ky.). The Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders cracked the Top-25 for the first time this season sitting at #24.

The Georgetown Tigers and the Cumberland Phoenix received votes in the rating.

Dordt (Iowa) kept their #1 placement with 15 first-place votes and 561 voting points. Marian (Ind.) came in fifth with 472 voting points.

The sixth regular-season poll is scheduled to be released on Wednesday, February 11th.

Poll Methodology

  • The national poll is for publicity purposes only and does not influence the selection process for national championship consideration.
  • A panel of head coaches representing each conference and the Continental Athletic Conference (Independents) votes in the poll.
  • The Top 25 teams are selected using a points-based system:
    • 30 points for a 1st-place vote, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, and so on.
  • The highest and lowest rankings received by each team are discarded before final tallying.
  • Teams receiving only one point are not listed as “receiving votes.”