It was announced earlier today that the University of Redlands women's basketball team tied for third on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll for Division III schools.

The Bulldogs boast an impressive team GPA of 3.566, which includes the fall and spring semester grades of the 14 women on the roster.

"This is one accolade that these student-athletes have earned completely on their own.  As their coach I can encourage them to get good grades, but they are the ones who show up every day, sit in the front of the class, and encourage each other," Head Coach Rich Murphy said.  "Their dedication to both school and basketball shows that they don't have to sacrifice one for the other.  To me this is a very big deal, and I am glad they are being recognized for their hard work."

Redlands tied Emerson College (MA) for third on the list and sat a mere five one-hundredths of a point behind first-place Carnegie Mellon University's (PA) mark of 3.616.

This greatly improves upon last year's GPA of 3.418, which placed them 18th on the list.

With a 22-6 showing during the 2009-10 campaign, the Bulldogs own the best record among the top six teams on the Honor Roll.

This award caps off an historical season of accomplishments for the Redlands women's basketball team, which included a record-setting number of wins as well as the program's inaugural NCAA appearance. In addition, the Bulldogs earned a share of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) title and won the SCIAC Postseason Tournament for the first time. The Maroon and Gray earned an overall mark of 22-6, blasting the last year's school record by three wins, to go along with a 12-2 showing in conference.

For a complete list of the honorees, including those from NCAA Division I and II, NAIA and Junior/Community Colleges, please log onto the WBCA web site at http://www.wbca.org/releases/2010AcademicTop25.html.