D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University of Minnesota women's basketball team made a statement last season, capturing its first Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular-season title in 28 years—while also earning its first NCAA national tournament appearance since the 1985-86 season.
Their on-court successes last season did not go unnoticed, either, as the Cardinals were regulars in the D3hoops.com and USA TODAY Sports Coaches Polls.
And while it's a new season, some things haven't changed.
The Cardinals—who kick off their 2014-15 season with nonconference games against UM-Morris and UW-River Falls on Nov. 15-16 in St. Joseph, Minn.—find themselves right back in the national poll spotlight, grabbing the No. 23 spot in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25, which was released Friday.
Six teams received No. 1 votes in this year's D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 poll, led by top-ranked and defending national champion FDU-Florham, which grabbed 16 first-place votes after putting together a perfect 33-0 season a year ago. Amherst (26-4) received two first-place votes and is sitting at No. 2, followed by Thomas More (31-1), Tufts (30-3), and UW-Oshkosh (26-4)—which knocked off the Cardinals in last year's NCAA regional tournament matchup.
Saint Mary's, 24-4 a year ago—equaling the school record for wins in a season—is one of two MIAC schools in this year's preseason poll. St. Thomas (25-5) is sitting in the No. 12 spot.
The Cardinals, who kick off their season with six straight nonconference games, begin defense of their conference regular-season title on Dec. 3, traveling to Hutton Arena in St. Paul, Minn., for a 7 p.m. showdown with Hamline.
The D3hoops.com Top 25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, Sports Information Directors and media members from across the country, and is published weekly.
