Lady Jays still in No. 3 spot in national basketball poll

It was another week with very little change in the NJCAA Division 3 Women's Basketball Poll.

Minnesota West is in the No. 3 spot in the national poll for the fifth week in a row. Once again, Anoka-Ramsey, now 11-1 on the season, is the unanimous No. 1 selection, and Riverland — which claimed a home overtime victory over the Lady Jays in the Pioneers' third game of the year — is No. 2.

After Minnesota West in the poll comes the Community College of Rhode Island, which is again in the No. 4 position. At No. 5, Monroe College-Bronx has flipped places with now- No. 6 Onondaga Community College. The two schools switched spots the previous week as well.

In men's basketball, the Bluejays remain unranked despite a pair of wins over the past weekend that improved their record to 8-3. There is a new No. 1 team in NJCAA Division 3 men's basketball, as 14-0 Salem Community College moved up from No. 2 to grab the top spot. Northampton Community College, which is 12-0, is ranked second, while last week's No. 1, Mohawk Valley Community College, is at No.3 with a 7-1 record.

Both local women's and men's teams are now in the midst of a little more than two weeks off before the annual Minnesota West New Years Classic. The Lady Jays will play the Bethany JV at 6 p.m. Dec. 30 and North Dakota State College of Science at 3:30 p.m. Dec. 31. The Bluejays face Dakota County Technical College at 8 p.m. Dec. 30 and NDSCS at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 31.  

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The Lady Jays played their last basketball game before their two-week break on Monday night and came away with an 84-64 triumph over the Mt. Marty JV at the Center for Health & Wellness.

Minnesota West, which improved to 9-3 on the season, led 46-38 at halftime and expanded its advantage even further in the third quarter. Katrina Schutz converted a three-point play and connected on a 3-point field goal a short time later to begin the third, and the Lady Jays went on to outscore Mt. Marty 22-7 in the quarter.

Schutz led Minnesota West for the game with 24 points and shared the team high with seven rebounds. Payton Riemers added 17 points, Izzy Klumper had 14 points and Maddie Kamm contributed 10 points while passing for eight assists against no turnovers. 

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In high school girls basketball, Marshall — ranked No. 2 in Minnesota in Class 3A, got out to a 71-13 halftime lead and defeated visiting Worthington 101-29. The setback dropped the Trojans to 2-4 on the season.

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It's a big night for Trojan sports Tuesday night, as the boys basketball team hosts St. Peter, girls hoops are at St. Peter, the boys hockey team is at Faribault, the girls hockey team is at Austin and the gymnastics squad is at Luverne. Meanwhile, Adrian-Ellsworth hosts a girls-boys basketball doubleheader against Heron Lake-Okabena/Fulda. Catch the action starting at 6 on 104.3 La Voz.