LILBURN, Ga. - The Carson-Newman women’s basketball team jumped nine spots in the first WBCA USA TODAY/ESPN Division II poll since Dec. 14, WBCA officials announced Tuesday. The Lady Eagles are now ranked No. 13, which is second-highest in school history. The nine-spot leap is the largest of any school in the poll.

Carson-Newman moved picked up three wins since the last poll to move to 12-0 on the year with a 2-0 mark in South Atlantic Conference play. The Lady Eagles concluded their seven-game road trip with wins at USC Aiken and Augusta State over the Christmas Holiday. The team also defeated Newberry in league action Saturday at home by an 86-73 score.

C-N is off to its best start since in school history and is one of nine D-II schools that remain undefeated on the year. The Lady Eagles reached the twelfth spot nationally during the 2005-06 season, its highest-ever ranking.

Franklin Pierce takes over the top spot in this week’s poll after holding the No. 2 ranking for the previous five weeks. Clayton State, which Carson-Newman defeated, 65-62, on Dec. 12, moves up four spots this week to No. 11.

Fellow South Atlantic Conference school Lenoir-Rhyne has dropped out of the top 25 for the first time since the middle of last season while Newberry and Wingate are each receiving votes.

C-N returns to the court Saturday when it travels to Mars Hill to take on the Lions in SAC action at 2:00 p.m.

The WBCA USA TODAY/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll is voted on by 30 head coaches from across the nation at NCAA Division II institutions.

To view the full poll, please click here.