KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Westminster College women's basketball team moved up another three positions in this week's fourth regular-season edition of the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll, the national office announced today.  The Griffins moved to No. 21 this week after spending last week at No. 24.

This marks the third time this season that Westminster has found itself inside the Top 25.  They have now been ranked for a total of 49 times in school history and have a 102-31 record when playing as a ranked team.  This week's 106 points are the second-most the team has received this year and pushes the streak of consecutive polls with at least one point to 56.

Westminster picked two home wins last weekend to improve their overall record to 11-6 on the season.  They have won six straight games and sit at 4-0 in Frontier Conference play.

Freed-Hardeman entered last week as the No. 2-rated team in the TranSouth Athletic Conference but finds itself No. 1 overall in this week's poll.  Last week's top-ranked squad, Oklahoma City, fell hard at home to then-No. 12 Lubbock Christian (Texas), 88-66 on Jan. 12, opening the door for a new No. 1. The Lady Lions top this week's poll with 11 of 12 first-place votes and 312 points.

Oklahoma City drops back only one spot to No. 2 with one first-place nod and 299 points after the upset loss to the Lady Chaparrals marked the Star's first setback of the season. No. 3 Union (Tenn.) also moves down a spot with 293 points. The Lady Bulldogs had their opportunity to rise to No. 1 this week as they traveled to Freed-Hardeman for the NAIA Game of the Week on Jan. 14 and fell, 66-54. Nos. 4 and 5 remain the same with Westmont (Calif.) and Langston (Okla.) earning 278 and 273 points, respectively.

The three-spot improvements of No. 9 Lubbock Christian and Westminster tie for the largest jumps up in the poll among ranked teams. The Lady Chaparrals have won 10-straight games, highlighted by the road win over previously-No. 1 Oklahoma City. Meanwhile, The biggest falls within the top 25 were experienced by No. 12 Shawnee State (Ohio) and No. 18 Georgetown (Ky.), who each plummeted three slots. It marks the second week in-a-row that Shawnee State has spiraled back three places.

Shorter (Ga.), No. 21 a week ago, and Lyon (Ark.), No. 25 last week, are the only two teams to drop from the rankings. Replacing them are No. 23 Loyola (La.) and No. 24 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.). Loyola boasts reigning Player of the Week and NAIA scoring leader Keiva Council (24.1 ppg) and seven-straight victories, including an impressive 67-64 win over then-No. 10 Xavier (La.) on Dec. 17. MidAmerica Nazarene has also won seven straight and sits in first place in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. 
Ten of the 12 Division I women's basketball conferences and independents are represented throughout the Top 25, led by five squads from the Mid-South Conference: No. 8 Cumberlands (Ky.), Shawnee State, Georgetown, No. 17 Campbellsville (Ky.) and No. 20 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.). The Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference, the Golden State Athletic Conference, the Sooner Athletic Conference and the Southern States Athletic Conference are all tied for second with three ranked members.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and independents. The next regular-season Top 25 poll will be announced on Jan. 23.