COLORADO SPRINGS, Co. - The NCC women's basketball team is ranked 2nd in the country in the latest Division III poll released by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA).

The Spartans, who lost their first game of the season on Monday night, were a perfect 4-0 to start the season, including an 80-76 victory over defending national runner-up Onondaga Community College (Syracuse, NY).  The Spartans also had defeated Montgomery County Community College (72-55), Division II Raritan Valley Community College (102-44) and PSU- Schuylkill (75-51).

The #2 national ranking is the highest ever for a team at Northampton, eclipsing the #6 ranking the softball team received last season on April 22nd.  "It is a great achievement for our team and the program overall" commented Head Coach Art Wolfe, "obviously the loss on Monday night dampens things a little, but our overall body of work has been solid.  However we all know it is a long season and we would much rather be ranked in March then November."

The #2 ranked Spartans will hit the road for the first time this season when they open Region XIX play on Saturday at Ocean County College.