UAA women premiere atop first West Region rankings

INDIANAPOLIS (Feb. 15) - Already sporting the No. 2 ranking in the national polls, the Alaska Anchorage women's basketball team premiered at No. 1 in Wednesday's first official NCAA Div. II West Region ranking, which goes toward determining NCAA Tournament qualification.

The Seawolves, who are 23-0 against D-II competition, are joined in the regional rankings by fellow Great Northwest Athletic Conference members Western Washington (21-3) at No. 3, Simon Fraser (22-4) at No. 4, and Seattle Pacific (16-7) at No. 8.

UC San Diego (18-5), Hawaii Pacific (17-4) and Point Loma (19-3) hold down the next three spots, while Cal State East (16-7) and Cal Poly Pomona (13-9) are currently on the outside of the playoff bubble at ninth and 10th.

The rankings take into account only games played through Feb. 12.

The regional rankings will be released again Feb. 22 and March 1, leading to the announcement of the NCAA Tournament field on March 5. The top five teams in the final rankings-along with the winners of the GNAC, California Collegiate Athletic Association and Pac West Conference tournaments-will make the NCAAs, with the top seed generally earning the right to host.

UAA has four regular-season games remaining-the last three against regionally ranked opponents-prior to the GNAC Tournament. The Seawolves will host Saint Martin's on Thursday at 7 p.m. in a Play4Kay-themed game to benefit the fight against women's cancers, while Seattle Pacific invades the Alaska Airlines Center on Saturday for a 5 p.m. tip on senior night.

Read the original story at GoSeawolves.com.

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