The first DII women's basketball Power 10 rankings of the regular season

It's time for the first, but not last, edition of the DII women's basketball Power 10 Rankings for the 2022-23 regular season. You can expect to see them every other week until the DII women’s basketball championship tips off in March.

Perhaps to no one’s surprise, my preseason No. 1 — Grand Valley State — is a perfect 9-0… and still No. 1. That doesn’t mean there aren’t some pleasant surprises, but more on them in a few.

LOOK BACK: The Preseason Power 10

Remember, the krikya18.com Power 10 rankings are mine, and mine alone. There is no committee voting, and I like to try and blend the metrics the selection committee uses with the ol’ eye test and which teams are playing good basketball.

The first DII women’s Power 10 rankings of the regular season 

(Note: All games through Dec. 15)

No. 1 Grand Valley State | Previous: 1: The Lakers have been a really good team the past few years, predicated on a stingy defense that often finds its way atop the DII statistical leaders. That's why this 9-0 start is scary. That renowned defense is still there, but these Lakers are scoring 85.3 points per game — 20 points more than last year's sensational semifinals team. It's possible the Lakers are even better than last year.

No. 2 Ashland | Previous: 3: The Eagles are an impressive 10-0 and that includes wins over fellow Power-10-er Drury as well as Walsh and Wayne State (MI), both tournament teams a year ago. Per usual, this squad can score with the best of them, as Annie Roshak leads four players scoring in double figures thus far. A 4-0 start in G-MAC play is not good for anyone else in the conference.

No. 3 Drury | Previous: 6: The Panthers are doing Panthers things once again, and while yes, they do have one loss, it was a one-point overtime thriller to the aforementioned Ashland Eagles. One basket goes the other way, and this is the No. 2 team in the rankings. Kaylee DaMitz-Holt and Alana Findley are a dynamic duo that make it hard for any opponent to lock down the offense as the Panthers look to be a pretty deep lineup once again.

No. 4 Minnesota State | Previous: Not ranked: Well, how about these Mavericks? A perfect 9-0, Minnesota State has an impressive resume already with an out-of-conference win against Fort Hays State — the team that eliminated the Mavericks from last year's tournament. This offense can explode at any time and has four regular players averaging 10 or more points. The NSIC is a tough grind, so it is huge to be off to a 5-0 start.

No. 5 Glenville State | Previous: 10: This team wasn't supposed to be this good this quickly. Well, on paper at least. Kim Stephens is proving just how great a head coach she is, losing nearly the entire national championship roster from last year and still leading the defending champs to a 9-1 start. This squad is "only" scoring 95.5 points per game, so if you know anything about the Pioneers, the best is yet to come... and that's scary for the MEC.

ALL-STATS TEAM: A dream starting five of the best stats through November

No. 6 Western Washington | Previous: 2: The defending national runners-up opened the season with a one-point loss to Azusa Pacific, the first team out of the preseason Power 10. The Vikings quickly rebounded the next night with a 17-point win over Cal State San Marcos, the second team out of the preseason Power 10. The Vikings would likely be higher, but simply haven't built a solid enough resume with just six games played thus far. The Hoops in Hawaii Classic this weekend should show us more.

No. 7 West Texas A&M | Previous: The Buffs got off to a big start in the D2CCA Tipoff Classic, defeating then-No. 3 Fort Hays State as well as 2022-tournament team Nebraska-Kearney on consecutive nights. They did slip and lose to Texas A&M-Kingsville, but quickly rebounded with a pair of victories as they head to Florida for a showdown with undefeated Tampa on Monday, Dec. 19.

No. 8 Missouri Southern | Previous: 9: Yes, the Lions are coming off their first loss of the season, but it was a two-point heartbreaker to a Central Missouri team that is under-ranked nationally at No. 17. This squad still has resume-building wins against 2022 tournament teams Lubbock Christian, Minnesota Duluth and Missouri Western as well as a win over a Harding team receiving votes at the time. As long as Lacy Stokes is on the floor, this team is dangerous. 

No. 9 Tampa | Previous: Also considered: The "also considered" in the preseason Power 10 were essentially teams No. 16-25 unranked. The Sunshine State Conference is a grind within itself, so a huge overtime victory against Barry is a big step up in conference play. This team, which powered its way to the No. 2 seed in the 2022 tournament, is scoring significantly more than last year's version while still playing that lockdown defense that made them a contender.

No. 10 (tie) Central Missouri, Lenoir-Rhyne | Previous: Not ranked: We are a little more than a month into the season, and the Bears are still a perfect 11-0. An undefeated record this early in the season doesn't guarantee a spot in the Power 10, but this team has a pair of wins against then-nationally ranked teams on their resume. Perhaps most impressive is that this team already matched its win total from last year. The Bears are doing it with a balanced scoring with four players in double figures.

The Jennies are now 7-0 coming off that huge victory over Missouri Southern. It's probably confusing to see the team that beat the Lions two slots below them, but, as with Western Washington, Central Missouri's overall schedule is a smaller sample size. This team is very good, and a few more wins will see them jump up these rankings even more.  

DII WOMEN'S HOOPS CENTRAL: News, stats, history and scores

First five out (in alphabetical order)

• Alaska Anchorage
• Colorado School of Mines
• Eckerd
• North Georgia
• Union (TN)