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Lady Jackets Fall from NCAA Poll (2/14/07)
BILLINGS, MT – After losing
four of the last five games, the Montana State-Billings women’s
basketball team fell out of the top 10 in the NCAA South Central
Region poll this week. The Yellowjackets had been ranked for
three straight weeks (10th, 5th, and 9th).
Missouri Western State held
onto the top spot in this week’s poll, followed closely by West
Texas A&M and Washburn. The top four teams in the NCAA South
Central Region are all ranked in the top 10 in the nation by the
WBCA. Missouri Western is the second-ranked team in the
country. Washburn is ranked third in the nation, West Texas A&M
is eighth, and Emporia State is ninth.
The NCAA regional polls help
determine the participants in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
The top eight teams in each of the NCAA’s eight regions receive
invitations to the Big Dance. In the South Central Region,
conference champions from the Heartland Conference, Lone Star
Conference, and Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association
receive automatic bids to the regional tournament. The
Heartland’s automatic qualifier will be determined at the
conference tournament March 2 and 3 in Denton, TX. Most likely,
the Heartland champion will supplant the eighth-ranked team in
the region for one of the eight spots at the NCAA Regional.
The Yellowjackets have three
games remaining in the regular season. They host Texas-Permian
Basin in a non-conference game on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. at
Alterowitz Gym. It will be Senior Night for Michelle Lieber and
Jennifer Skrifvars. They close the regular season on the road
with a non-conference game at Texas A&M-International and the
regular season conference finale at St. Edward’s. A win at St.
Edward’s would lock up at least a share of the regular season
title and the top seed in the Heartland Conference Tournament.
NCAA South Central Region
(DII Record/In-Region Record)
1. Missouri Western State (21-1/18-1)
2. West Texas A&M (21-3/16-1)
3. Washburn (19-2/16-2)
4. Emporia State (14-5/12-3)
5. Texas A&M-Commerce (15-6/13-5)
6. Northwest Missouri State (12-8/10-6)
7. Angelo State (13-9/13-7)
8. Tarleton State (12-7/11-7)
9. Southeastern Oklahoma State (17-6/15-6)
10. Central Oklahoma (10-8/10-7) |
