Clarke Athletics
Jerry Hansen, Sports Information Director
Clarke University’s women’s basketball program has reached new heights. Coach Courtney Boyd‘s squad made its first-ever Top 10 ranking today when the Pride climbed five sports to No. 8 in this week’s NAIA Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
Clarke is 11-1 overall and 7-1 in Heart of America Athletic Conference play. The Pride have strung together 10 straight wins heading into tonight’s home Heart matchup with Culver-Stockton College.
“‘The harder you work, the luckier you get,’ isn’t that how the saying goes?” Boyd said. “For this group there is no luck about it, they have worked hard for this and are very much deserving of it. This team is different. Every handful of years, as a coach, you have a group that just gets it, and this is that team.
“We know there is still a lot of work to be done before we can consider ourselves successful, but first we are going to enjoy the rest of the nation recognizing our accomplishments thus far. This is a light-hearted group, we have to keep them smiling. After seeing this ranking, there were pretty big smiles! Having this team receive the highest ranking in school history, is credit to their selflessness on the floor and commitment to always wanting more.”
Clarke’s previous best ranking was in this year’s preseason poll when the Pride came in at No. 13.
Campbellsville (Ky.) is the NAIA’s top-ranked team.
Click HERE to view complete poll.