Regional rankings open with Pack at 10th spot

ThunderWolves potentially in the running for a fourth-straight regional playoff appearance, judging by rankings.

Related: NCAA Division II Central Region Women's Basketball Rankings (Jan. 26, 2011)

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (GoThunderWolves.com - Jan. 27, 2011) - CSU-Pueblo is in the running once again for a spot in the NCAA Tournament, based on their standing in the first NCAA Division II Women's Basketball regional rankings, released Wednesday.

The Pack weighed in ranked 10th in the Central Region, just a couple wins away from the top eight, which is the number of teams from the region that qualify for nationals.

CSU-Pueblo, which holds a 10-6 record overall and 10-5 record in-region, is part of a six-team cluster each with five losses or more from the five-spot through the ten-spot.  The region's top four teams - Colorado Christian, Metro State, Fort Lewis and Wayne State, the region's top seed according to the rankings, each only have one or two losses thus far.

CSU-Pueblo has qualified for nationals each of the past three seasons and four out of the past five seasons, but did so each time by claiming the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's automatic bid by winning the RMAC Shootout championship.  The ThunderWolves have never claimed an at-large bid to nationals. 

CSU-Pueblo can go a long way to shooting up the rankings with a hot February, and they can get started on the right foot this weekend when they host New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico.