University of Dayton women’s basketball coach Jim Jabir is a self-proclaimed eternal pessimist.

Heading into the season with six freshmen replacing familiar faces like Justine Raterman and Patrice Lalor, Jabir was not sure exactly what to expect.

Then, the group knocked off then 25th-ranked DePaul on Nov. 10 and followed it up with a win Sunday afternoon over No. 13 Vanderbilt to move the Flyers into the Associated Press top 25 for the first time since Dec. 7, 2009.

The Flyers are ranked 24th in the AP poll with 101 points. Stanford takes over the top spot this week after knocking off defending champ Baylor last week.

“We lost four starters and had a bunch of freshmen coming in,” Jabir said. “I don’t know a lot of people who would have expected it to go like this.”

The Flyers are 4-0 for the first time since the 1992-93 season, including a 79-76 win over Toledo in their home opener and a 71-66 win over Vandy. Andrea Hoover, who matched a career-high 22 points against Toledo, added 14 points in the win over the Commodores, earning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week honors.

Dayton was ranked 20th in the Dec. 7, 2009 poll after entering the poll in November at 25th.

During the run in 2009, Jabir learned to keep the squad focused on the task at hand and not everything surrounding the success on the court.

“We had a 16-game winning streak and the pressure got unbearable,” Jabir said. “We lost a game that we shouldn’t have lost. I told them we want to go to the NCAA and win the A-10, that’s all that matters.”

The week after defeating DePaul, the Blue Demons fell out of the top 25 and Jabir knows that is a cautionary tale for his squad.

“We won four games to get in the top 25, we lose the next one and we could be out,” Jabir said. “The thing I told the girls is that the record doesn’t matter, we just have to keep working to getting better.”

To make the point that — while being recognized in the poll is good for the program — there is work to be done, Jabir had the girls back in the gym at 5:30 a.m. preparing for the Dayton Mariott Classic this weekend.

“We got to get ready for Buffalo,” Jabir said. “We will watch film and work on what we got to do to get better. But, the girls have done everything we have asked of them and more; they have been great.”

Dayton takes the floor as a nationally ranked team Friday at 7 p.m. against Buffalo at UD Arena.