Lady Yellowjackets Hold at No. 3 in West Region Poll

BILLINGS, MT – Despite splitting a pair of games at Western New Mexico over the weekend, the Montana State University-Billings women’s basketball team didn’t lose any ground in this week’s NCAA West Region poll.  The Yellowjackets (14-4) are at No. 3 for the third straight week.

In what could have been a damaging loss, the Jackets fell 54-47 at Western New Mexico last Thursday.  However, MSUB bounced back with a 75-70 win the following night to secure the 4^th-best record currently in the region.  The Yellowjackets’ December 18 win over Western Washington was a key factor in keeping the Vikings from moving ahead of MSUB in this week’s poll

With just eight games remaining on their regular season schedule, the Lady Jackets are sitting in a strong position to qualify for the NCAA Tournament for the second straight year.  The top eight teams in the West Region qualify for the regional round of the tournament, which will be held March 14-17 on the campus of the No. 1 seed.  Currently, unbeaten Seattle Pacific (16-0) is ranked No. 1.

The Yellowjackets next play at Rocky Mountain College on February 6.  After that, they play three games in Puerto Rico on February 14, 15 and 16.

NCAA West Region Women’s Basketball Poll (through games of January 26, 2003)
1. Seattle Pacific (16-0)
2. Cal State-Bakersfield (14-1)
3. Montana State-Billings (14-4)
4. Western Washington (12-3)
5. UC-Davis (10-5)
6. Cal State-San Bernardino (10-5)
7. Sonoma State (10-5)
8. Northwest Nazarene (10-5)
9. Cal State-Stanislaus (9-6)
10. Central Washington (8-6)

Next poll released February 5, 2003