Morningside College is ranked No. 3 in the nation in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Pre-Season Poll.

Morningside College is ranked No. 3 in the nation in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Pre-Season Poll.

The Mustangs return 10 letterwinners, including two starters, from a team that posted a 31-5 record last season and reached the Final Four at the NAIA Division II National Tournament. The Mustangs lost 65-64 against eventual NAIA II National Champion Indiana Wesleyan University in the semifinals.

Morningside is one of four teams from the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) ranked in the pre-season NAIA Top 25. Concordia University is fifth, Northwestern College is seventh, and Briar Cliff University is 12th.

Morningside will open the 2013-14 season with games against Ashford University and Olivet Nazarene University at this weekend’s Ashford Classic in Clinton, Iowa.

Click here for the complete NAIA II Pre-Season Poll.