Cause for pride? Yes. Cause for celebration? Not yet.

James Madison women’s basketball coach Kenny Brooks says his club’s No. 25 ranking in this week’s Associated Press poll—the Dukes’ first such ranking since 1988 and the first AP ranking by any Colonial Athletic Association women’s team since 2002—does not, by itself, identify his deep, seasoned team as successful.

“Yes, this was one of our goals—to reach the Top 25 and be recognized as one of the elite programs in the country,“ said Brooks, whose Dukes are undefeated in the CAA (9-0) and 17-2 overall. “I told the players to enjoy it for a day and then come to practice (Tuesday) ready to get back to work.“

Brooks, whose club will carry a nine-game winning streak and a 22-game home-court streak into Thursday’s showdown with CAA rival Old Dominion, said he “would obviously rather be ranked at the end of the season than at the end of January. But you take it when you can get it.“

He said the Dukes, whose starting lineup includes four seniors, “understand that (their ranking) is a nice achievement but I don’t think it’s something they’re really satisfied about. This is not their ultimate goal. Their ultimate goal is to win the CAA championship” and with it an invitation to the NCAA tournament.

Brooks said his players—his veterans, particularly—are savvy enough to realize that “what we’ve done could very possibly put a bullseye on our backs. They know that if they don’t come to play every night, they’re going to slip up somewhere and get beat. So no, I don’t think I’m going to have any trouble getting their attention” when the players report for practice today. He described Thursday’s date with the Lady Monarchs with a single word: “huge.“

No argument there. Old Dominion, which has won each of the past 15 CAA tournaments, is 8-0, 12-7. The Lady Monarchs, like James Madison, are riding a nine-game winning streak.