INDIANAPOLIS – In the first official NCAA Division II South Central Regional Poll of 2019 released on Wednesday, the Eastern New Mexico women’s basketball team enters the poll ranked sixth.
The Lone Star Conference (LSC), the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC), and the Heartland Conference (HC) make up the South Central region as the winners of each conference tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament while the top five remaining teams will receive at-large bids. The rankings are based off of the success against NCAA Division II opponents with factors such as strength of schedule and in-region opponents being taken into account.
The Hounds were able to secure the No. 6 spot after picking up a pair of big home victories last week, first defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville 80-64 on Thursday before following it up with a thrilling 71-67 comeback win against No. 17 Angelo State. The Greyhounds currently possess a 17-5 record against Division II opponents, all of which are in the South Central Region.
Eastern is one of five Lone Star Conference teams ranked in the poll, as West Texas A&M comes in ranked fourth and Angelo State in fifth, while Tarleton State sits in seventh and Texas A&M-Commerce in ninth.
Lubbock Christian (HC) holds the top spot in the poll, followed by Colorado Mesa (RMAC) and Westminster (RMAC) in second and third. St. Mary’s (HC) holds the No. 8 position while Western Colorado (RMAC) rounds out the poll with the No. 10 ranking.
The Hounds are currently in pursuit of their second South Central Regional Tournament appearance in the last three years after the Hounds made the tournament as the No. 6 seed during the 2016-17 season. During their last NCAA Tournament campaign, the Hounds went 20-9 overall and 19-7 against Division II opponents. Eastern finished as the LSC Champion during the regular season with a 14-4 mark in conference play.
The Greyhounds will be battle tested in their pursuit of an NCAA Tournament spot, as three of their next four opponents are ranked in the South Central poll. The four road games will consist of No. 9 Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday, No. 7 Tarleton State on Saturday, and No. 4 West Texas A&M on Tuesday before wrapping up the regular season with Texas Woman’s on Saturday, March 2. The Hounds road to the tournament begins tomorrow night with a 4:30 p.m. tip-off against Commerce.
