[Women's Basketball] Mount Mercy still getting votes, in hunt for MCC title

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Mount Mercy is one of four Midwest Collegiate Conference teams that is either ranked or receiving votes in this week's NAIA Division II Women's Basketball Top 25 Coaches' Poll.

The Mustangs (16-11, 10-3 MCC) are 34th with 14 points in this week's rating. Mount Mercy has won four straight games and 10 of its last 12, and remains a half-game back of league-leading St. Ambrose (21-4, 10-2 MCC) and Iowa Wesleyan (19-5, 10-2 MCC) in the Midwest Collegiate Conference.

Those two teams also happen to be Mount Mercy's next two opponents. The Mustangs travel to Davenport to face 15th-ranked St. Ambrose tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at Lee Lohman Arena, then host 13th-ranked Iowa Wesleyan on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at 5:30 p.m. at Hennessey Recreation Center.

The first time around, Mount Mercy beat St. Ambrose, 74-63, on Jan. 12 in Cedar Rapids, but lost at Iowa Wesleyan, 73-51, on Jan. 19 in Mount Pleasant. During Mount Mercy's current four-game winning streak, the Mustangs pounded William Penn, 87-67, on Jan. 29 at Hennessey Recreation Center. The Lady Statesmen (19-8, 10-3 MCC) are the other league squad in the rankings, coming in at No. 25 this week.

Davenport (Mich.) (26-0) is the No. 1 team in the country for the fifth week in a row. The Panthers are the lone undefeated team in NAIA Division II. Three schools from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) -- Northwestern (24-1), Morningside (21-3), and Sioux Falls (S.D.) (21-3) -- are next in line.