North Georgia Women's Basketball Team Earns First Top 25 Ranking

DAHLONEGA, GA – For the first time in school history, the North Georgia women’s basketball team has been ranked among the top 25 Division II teams in the country in the latest WBCA/ESPN/USA Today Top 25 which was released on Tuesday afternoon. The Lady Saints, who have received votes in every poll this season, finally broke through in the 20th spot. USC Aiken, who NGCSU beat on Saturday, is ranked in a tie for 23rd.

The Lady Saints are on a current five game win-streak that began with a 5-point home win over Francis Marion on December 1. Since then, head coach Buffie Burson's club downed Lincoln Memorial at home before heading out to Mississippi to get by Lynn University and West Alabama by a combined 28 points at the Delta State Classic. The Lady did not lose any momentum over the holiday break either, as they returned to action to hand then 20th-ranked USC Aiken its second loss of the season and take their spot in the latest poll.

North Georgia is just three games into a grueling 20-game conference schedule where all but one Peach Belt squad has suffered a league loss. The Lady Saints will look to push their win streak to six games as they head to Milledgeville on Wednesday, January 9, to face Georgia College & State University at 5:30 p.m.

North Georgia most likely should have been ranked in the Division II top 25 in the 2005-06 season when the team went 23-4 and 19-1 in the PBC to win the conference championship in their first year with the league. However, the school was in the first year of its transition to the NCAA Division II level and voters did not include the Lady Saints in the top 25, although they did receive votes in the polls that season. North Georgia was ranked numerous times in the top 25 in their days with the NAIA.

North Georgia (9-1, 2-1 PBC) is led by three of the top five scorers in the Peach Belt Conference. Syretha Marble currently ranks second in the league at 21.2 points per game, while Kourtney Singleton follows in third with 19.5. Megan Huffman rounds out the top five in the conference at 16.7.

View the WBCA poll here.