INDIANAPOLIS - The third edition of the NCAA Division II women's basketball regional rankings were released and the University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball Team is again ranked third in the Central Region. The Cougars, which won the NSIC South Division for the first time, have a 26-6 overall record with the regular season and tournament concluded.

USF now await the NCAA Women's Basketball Selection Show on Sunday, March 8 in which the national field is released. The show is set to air on NCAA.com at 9 p.m. (CT) on Sunday. The NCAA Elite Eight will take place on March 24-25, 27 at the at the Birmingham CrossPlex in Birmingham, Alabama.

USF is one of three NSIC teams in the top 10 of the central region.  Minnesota Duluth ranks second followed by Sioux Falls in third while St. Cloud State is 10th in the third of three rankings.

The Cougars have had one of their best season under 12^th-year Head Coach Travis Traphagen, reaching 26 wins for the second time in the program's DII era. This is the second straight season, and fourth in the last five, to eclipse 20 wins, and sixth under Coach Traphagen.  

The NSIC, the Great American Conference (GAC) and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) make up the 42-team NCAA Central Region again this year.  The top eight teams in the region advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament on March 13-14, 16.  Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the NSIC, GAC and MIAA postseason tournaments, with the remaining five spots being awarded on an at-large basis.


 

Rank	School	Overall DII Record	In-Region Record
1	Central Missouri (MIAA)	22-4	22-4
2	Minnesota Duluth (NSIC)	25-6	25-6
3	Sioux Falls (NSIC)	26-6	26-6
4	Emporia State (MIAA)	19-6	19-6
5	Southwestern Oklahoma State (GAC)	21-7	21-7
6	Fort Hays State (MIAA)	19-6	18-6
7	Southeastern Oklahoma State (GAC)	18-7	18-7
8	Harding (GAC)	19-9	19-9
9	Nebraska-Kearney (MIAA)	19-5	19-5
10	St. Cloud State (NSIC)	21-7	20-7