Hannah Sjerven scored 20 points and No. 25 South Dakota celebrated its first appearance in the Top 25 on Saturday with an 83-61 win over Western Illinois for the Coyotes' second 10-game winning streak of the season.
Sophie Cunningham scored 31 points and No. 16 Missouri opened the season Tuesday night with an 89-64 win over Western Illinois.
As conference play opens, Green Bay remains No. 1 in espnW's bi-weekly mid-major rankings. Wright State and Western Illinois break into the top 10, while Ball State jumped five spots to No. 2.
After scoring a season-high 26 points against then-No. 18 Stanford to help Western Illinois notch its first win against a ranked opponent, Emily Clemens is the espnW national player of the week.
Emily Clemens scored 15 of her season-high 26 points in the second half and Taylor Higginbotham had 17 points and 10 rebounds to help the Western Illinois women beat No. 18 Stanford 71-64 on Monday night for its first-ever win over a ranked team.
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Dakota | 8-0 | - | 19-2 |
| South Dakota State | 7-1 | 1 | 15-7 |
| Western Illinois | 5-3 | 3 | 11-10 |
| North Dakota | 4-4 | 4 | 13-8 |
| Oral Roberts | 3-4 | 4.5 | 8-12 |
| Denver | 3-5 | 5 | 9-12 |
| North Dakota State | 2-5 | 5.5 | 5-14 |
| Omaha | 1-6 | 6.5 | 6-14 |
| Purdue Fort Wayne | 1-6 | 6.5 | 5-15 |
