Lindenwood, the preseason No. 1 team in the country, finished where it started in 2021, earning the top spot in the final Nike / USA Lacrosse Division II Women's Top 20 after winning its first national championship.

The Lions were the top-ranked team in the weekly poll for most of the season before a late-season loss dropped them to No. 2 entering the NCAA tournament. Four postseason victories in May pushed LU back into the top spot.

Lindenwood (17-1) defeated No. 2 Queens 14-12 in the NCAA final on May 23 in Salem, Va., becoming the first team from outside the Eastern Time Zone to hoist the trophy in the 20-year history of the Division II championship.

Rounding out the top five behind Lindenwood and Queens (14-2) are No. 3 Roberts Wesleyan (14-2), which earned its first national semifinal appearance; No. 4 Indianapolis (14-2), which began the NCAA tournament as the top-ranked team and handed Lindenwood its only loss of the year; and No. 5 West Chester (13-1), the last remaining undefeated team before it lost in the Atlantic Region final.

National semifinalist East Stroudsburg finished sixth, while No. 7 Le Moyne was the highest ranking team that did not earn a berth in the 12-team NCAA tournament. No. 8 Regis, No. 9 Limestone and No. 10 Florida Southern finish out the top 10.

Nike/US Lacrosse Rankings

Division I Men | Division I Women
Division II Men | Division II Women
Division III Men | Division III Women

Also considered: Assumption (8-4), Belmont Abbey (11-4), Bloomsburg (8-6), Davenport (11-3), McKendree (10-4), Mercyhurst (10-4)