Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) extended its reign at No. 1 to four-consecutive polls, as the unbeaten Lions top the fourth regular-season edition of the NAIA Division I Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, the national office announced Tuesday. Freed-Hardeman garnered nine of the 10 first-place votes and 250 total points en route to the top spot. The fifth installment is scheduled to release on Tuesday, Feb. 14.

Top 25 Highlights (historical information dates back to 1999-2000)
• Freed-Hardeman locks down the No. 1 ranking for the fourth-straight poll and the 22nd time in program history. The Lions top billing total trails on former member Union (Tenn.) (53), Oklahoma City (49) and Vanguard (Calif.) (41) for most since the start of the 1999-2000 season.
• The Lions continue to roll through America Midwest Conference play, posting a 4-0 mark since the previous ranking was release. Freed-Hardeman is 21-0 overall and 15-0 in the league – one of three remaining unbeaten teams in Division I women’s basketball.
• Freed-Hardeman is in the midst of a stretch of five-straight road games, as the Lions travel to Stephens (Mo.) on Thursday and Park (Mo.) on Saturday.
• The remainder of the top 11 teams remain intact from the third edition, including No. 2 Lewis-Clark State (Idaho), No. 3 Westmont (Calif.), No. 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) and No. 5 Vanguard (Calif.) making up the top five.
• The Warriors of the Lewis-Clark State and Lindsey Wilson are the other two remaining unbeaten teams. Lewis-Clark State, which also currently boasts the most wins in the NAIA, is 23-0, while Lindsey Wilson is 21-0.
• Since the last Top 25 Poll, the top 11 teams posted a record of 41-5. All five losses came to other ranked teams.
• No. 12 Benedictine (Kan.), No. 16 Wayland Baptist (Texas) and No. 20 John Brown (Ark.) each jumped a poll-best three places. All three clubs enter the week riding significant winning streaks, highlighted by 13-straight victories by Wayland Baptist. Benedictine is next with a 10-gamer, while John Brown has claimed five-straight wins.
• No team dropped more than one position and remained in the Top 25.
• For the first time since Jan. 9, 2012, MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) drops out of the Top 25. The Pioneers, who are 3-5 in their last eight games, had previously been ranked in 65-consecutive editions.
• No. 24 Loyola (La.) is the newcomer this week. The Wolf Pack have won five-straight games, including a dominant 98-44 victory over Coastal Georgia last Saturday, and return to the Top 25 after a one-week hiatus.
• Freed-Hardeman and Oklahoma City have been listed in all 208 polls dating back to the start of the 1999-2000 season. No. 5 Vanguard is next in line with 175-straight mentions.
• Eight of 10 conferences are represented in the poll. The Association of Independent Institutions and Gulf Coast Athletic Conference are the two leagues without representation.
• The Mid-South Conference leads all conferences with five teams in the poll – Lindsey Wilson, No. 6 Shawnee State (Ohio), No. 8 Campbellsville (Ky.), No. 15 Cumberland (Tenn.) and No. 23 Pikeville (Ky.).
• In total, 29 teams have been ranked in the Top 25 this season.
• Union and Vanguard are the only programs to have spent an entire season ranked No. 1 (Union: 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11) (Vanguard: 2005-06, 2006-07).

Poll Methodology
• The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences, Association of Independent Institutions and Unaffiliated Groups.
• The Top 25 is determined by a points system based on how each voter ranks the best teams. A team receives 30 points for each first-place vote, 29 for second-place and so on through the list.
• The highest and lowest ranking for each team (a non-rating is considered a low ratings) is removed and the team’s ranking will be recalculated with an additional point added to each team for every ballot (including discounted ballots) that the teams appears on.
• Teams that receive only one point in the ballot are not considered “receiving votes”
• Frequency of polls occur bi-weekly. This policy was approved by the National Administrative Council (NAC) for the 2016-17 academic season. This change will allow raters the opportunity to consider a larger body of work in between rating periods.
• For the complete ratings calendar, click here.