Huskies Rise to No. 8 in Third NCAA Midwest Region Poll
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The Michigan Tech women's basketball team climbed two spots to No. 8 in the third NCAA Division II Midwest Region Poll, announced Wednesday by the national office. The Huskies, who were also ranked eighth in first poll two weeks ago, continued to be one of four Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference teams ranked in this third poll.
The Huskies closed the regular season last Thursday February 28th with a 60-55 victory over rival Northern Michigan at the SDC Gym. The Huskies claimed their 16th Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Division/Conference title and locked down the No.3 seed in the conference tournament. Tech began postseason play with an impressive 78-48 win over Northwood University Tuesday night in the GLIAC quarterfinal round.
Tuesday's win did not factor in to Wednesday's poll, but could play a role in the final ranking which will determine the participants in the NCAA Midwest Region Tournament coming up next week. The tournament field will be announced this Sunday night at 10 p.m. eastern time, with the top eight teams from each region advancing to NCAA regional competition.
The breakdown for GLIAC Teams in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Rankings this week include Grand Valley State remaining at No. 3 followed by Ashland at No. 4. Michigan Tech is No. 8 while Northern Michigan fell to No.9 in this week's poll. The Midwest Region includes schools from the GLIAC, the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC). The GLVC holds four regional ranking positions with the G-MAC owning two positions. Drury, out of the GLVC, continues to be the top ranked team in the region this week boasting a record of 28-0.
The Huskies are 21-8 overall and will meet Ashland at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in one of two GLIAC tournament semifinal games in Allendale, Michigan. The Eagles topped Parkside 77-59 in their quarterfinal contest Tuesday evening. The other semifinal showdown features the top-seed Grand Valley State against Northern Michigan beginning at 2 p.m. The winners of the two semifinal games will meet on Sunday afternoon in the GLIAC Tournament Championship at 3 p.m. eastern time. All three games are being hosted at Grand Valley State.
The complete NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Regional Rankings can be viewed by clicking on the link at the top of this release.