The women’s basketball team was disrespected in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Top 25 poll this past week, but head coach Tony Grenek won’t tell his team that.
After a 2-0 week against conference opponents Indiana University Kokomo and Rio Grande, it was announced last Tuesday Point Park fell from No. 25 in the NAIA Division II Top 25 poll to the “others receiving votes” section in the rankings. Madonna jumped Point Park in the poll to enter last week at No. 24.

Madonna lost at home to Point Park 74-55 earlier in the season.
Last week, Point Park went a perfect 2-0 again. After a 75-50 win over Penn State Fayette Monday, the team hosted Penn State Beaver Wednesday in its first game since the rankings were released and, in convincing fashion, rolled over a PSU-Beaver squad playing its first game since Dec. 12.
Point Park’s defense forced 29 turnovers in the 105-59 victory. The last time they scored 100 points at home was Nov. 27, 2007 against Wilberforce in a 101-90 victory. The team seized the opportunity to prove voters wrong in its dominating week against two Penn State teams, but Grenek said he doesn’t talk to his team about where the team is ranked.
“To be honest with you, it doesn’t really matter,” Grenek said. “We’ve won a ton of games in previous years, and we fall out of the Top 25 or never seem to even crack the Top 20. I don’t even bring that up to the girls whatsoever.”
After the game, Grenek said that his goal was to work on the team’s trap defense and play with an intensity that could propel them into conference play. He said the team’s performance last year in the national tournament, a loss in the first round 83-52 to Morningside, is partially to blame for its placement in the polls.
“We got to play in almost a sadistic mode,” Grenek said. “We’ve got to be mean all the time because obviously, in the polls, no one respects us. The way we performed last year at nationals, I don’t blame people. We didn’t really have a good performance out there.”
If they are going to make another trip to the national tournament, they are going to have to do it themselves and not rely on the voters. Because to the voters, Point Park simply put, is just another team receiving votes.
For Point Park conference play begins this week. Expect Point Park to continue their “sadistic” style of defense. Expect them to force turnovers. But don’t expect them to complain about their ranking.