MINNEAPOLIS -- The Trine women's basketball team is ranked 24th in the nation in the latest Top 25 poll released by D3hoops.com.
The Thunder checked in with 54 votes, nearly doubling its total from last week, to climb one spot in the poll. Trine cracked the Division III Top 25 rankings for the first time in program history in last week's poll. With a 14-1 record, the team is off to its best start in program history. The Thunder own a 13-game winning streak, the second-longest in team history. Trine earned victories over Kalamazoo, 78-48, and Alma, 75-48, last week.
Click Here to view the D3hoops.com Top 25 rankings.
A stout defense has helped power the hot start for the Thunder. The team ranks 11th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 48.7 points per game. Trine has held its opponents to 34 percent shooting, second in the MIAA. The Thunder have held opponents to a 22.8 percent shooting mark from three-point range, the 10th-best defensive rate against threes in the country.
Trine has also been able to score efficiently this season, shooting 44.4 percent from the field to rank 18th in Division III. The Thunder have knocked down the fifth-most free throws in the nation, with a 74.8 percent clip from the charity stripe that ranks 20th in the country.
Montana Martin (Columbia City, Ind. / Churubusco) has provided an important spark off the bench recently. The sophomore has scored in double figures in five of the last six games. She is shooting 57 percent from the field and averaging 11.7 points per game over that span.
Returning All-MIAA Second Team performers Hayley Martin (Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb) and Brandi Dawson (Garrett, Ind. / Garrett) continue to pace the team's scoring efforts. Martin is averaging 15.9 points per game, fourth-best in the MIAA, while shooting 51.6 percent from the field, third in the conference. Dawson ranks fourth in the league in knocking down 50.3 percent from the field. She averages 14.7 points per game.
Next up for Trine is a showdown against No. 7 Hope. The two teams meet this Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in Hershey Hall. The Thunder can tie the program's longest winning-streak mark at 14 with a victory. The defending MIAA-champion Flying Dutch carry a 15-1 overall record into Wednesday night's contest.