Kansas City, Mo. -  UPIKE women's basketball received votes in the NAIA Preseason Women's Basketball Top-25 Coaches' Poll, announced the national office Monday.

Coach Clifton Williams' UPIKE Bears received four votes in the preseason poll. Coach Williams is entering his seventh year as head coach of the UPIKE women's basketball program and looks to build off a successful 2021-22 campaign. UPIKE got off to a slow start but caught fire late in the season and finished 19-14 (11-11 MSC). The Bears qualified for the 2022 NAIA Tournament and traveled to Dayton, Tenn. where Coach Williams' picked up his first career NAIA postseason win.

This is the second straight season the Bears have been receiving votes in the NAIA Preseason Coaches' Poll. 

After last season's success that included an NAIA Opening Round victory, the Bears enter a challenging 2022-23 stretch. The Mid-South Conference was well represented in the top-25 poll, with Thomas More at No. 1, Campbellsville at No. 4 and Georgetown at No. 15. Along with UPIKE, Cumberlands (Ky.) and Bethel (Tenn.) also received votes in the preseason top-25. The Bears will face stiff competition in non-conference play as well with (20) Rio Grande and (RV) Mount Vernon Nazarene looming on the schedule. 

The 2022-23 UPIKE season starts on Friday evening with the Bears traveling to Illinois to take on Olivet Nazarene. 

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