Webster’s women’s basketball jumped three spots—to No. 22—in the latest WBCA NCAA Division III Top 25 Coaches’ Poll, the highest in program history.
This is the first time the Gorloks have ever been ranked in the top 25 of the Coaches’ Poll for the third consecutive week.
Head women’s basketball coach Jordan Olufson believes the team’s success this season can be credited to the players’ motivation and internal drives. He said that each of the players have the same goal: they want to win at the highest level possible, whatever it takes.
“They’re putting the work in,” Olufson said. “They’re buying in and they want something bigger than just themselves.”
Olufson remembers when the team was neck and neck with University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, one of the top teams in the country, in the NCAA tournament last year. The Gorloks lost 69-50.
“I feel like it’s an open wound,” Olufson said. “It’s keeping them motivated, hungry…We don’t want to feel that feeling again.”
Senior guard Jordyn Grimes knew from the NCAA tournament last year that the team has what it takes to win. She credits their success to playing together for multiple seasons, creating a bond to play off of each other’s strengths.
Grimes acknowledges that basketball is as much a mental game as it is physical. When the team faces adversity, they have to be “mentally tough” to overcome it.
Despite the challenges the game may pose, Grimes feels blessed for the success of the season.
“We work extremely hard year-round and it is finally paying off,” she said. “Usually, we are always underestimated and don’t get the respect we deserve, so it’s just a blessing that we are finally getting the recognition we deserve.”
Grimes thinks the team was deserving of a higher ranking than 25 because their record “speaks for itself.”
“They continue to underestimate us, but we can show them what we deserve better than we can tell them,” Grimes said.
The team received 39 total points from the WBCA NCAA Division III Coaches’ Poll Committee Feb. 13. The committee is composed of one head coach from each of the 10 NCAA Division III regions.
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