INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Riding its seven-game winning streak, the No. 24 Valdosta State women's basketball program moved to third in the newest NCAA Division II Women's Basketball South Region Poll, announced Wednesday by the national office.
 
This is the second of three public region rankings, which the second rankings will be announced next Wednesday (Feb. 23) and then again Mar. 2, prior to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show, which is scheduled for the evening of Mar. 6.  The Selection Show will be streamed live on NCAA.com.  

Click here or on the link to the right of this story for the complete NCAA Region Rankings.
 
Union (Tenn.) headlines the poll, once again this week, followed by Tampa.  VSU replaces Eckerd this week at the third spot as the Tritons move to fourth. Lee remained fifth to round out the top five.  Savannah State moved from eighth to sixth this week, followed by Florida Southern, who jumped from ninth to seventh.  Benedict dropped one spot from seventh to eight, while Tuskegee moved from sixth to ninth and West Florida held steady at tenth. 
 
The top eight teams in the region will qualify for the NCAA South Region Championship when the selections are made public on Mar. 6.  The No. 1-ranked team in the region most likely will host the NCAA South Regional Mar. 11-14, with the winner advancing to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Elite Eight at the Birmingham Crossplex in Birmingham, Ala., for the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. 
 
VSU is looking for its 14^th appearance in the NCAA postseason as the team went 1-1 last year, defeating Lee and falling in heartbreaking fashion to eventual NCAA South Region champion Lander.  VSU is 14-13 all-time in the NCAA postseason with a third-place finish in 1984.
 
The Lady Blazers close the 2021-22 regular season Saturday at 4 p.m. at West Georgia in Carrollton, Ga.  Fans can access links to audio/video streaming, live stats and more at vstateblazers.com on the women's basketball schedule page.  The game also will be broadcast on 92.1 WDDQ FM in Valdosta with Spencer Van Horn having the call.