Arkansas Tech University will enter the final weekend of the 2015-16 regular season at the No. 6 spot in the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings.
The Golden Suns (21-3 overall, 19-1 Great American Conference) fell one spot from last week’s poll.
Pittsburg State University (23-4) is the new No. 1 team in the region. The Gorillas have won 12 consecutive games. They are in third place in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association standings.
Fort Hays State University (23-3) is No. 2 in the NCAA Division II Central Region, followed by No. 3 Winona State University (27-2) and No. 4 Missouri Western State University (24-2), which fell three spots in the poll despite going 1-0 last week and maintaining sole possession of first place in the MIAA standings.
Emporia State University (21-5) comes in just ahead of Arkansas Tech in the No. 5 position.
Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference members Northern State University (7th, 21-6), Minnesota State University-Moorhead (8th, 20-5), the University of Sioux Falls (9th, 23-5) and Augustana University (10th, 21-7) round out the region poll.
The poll is used to make selections for the NCAA Division II Tournament. Postseason conference tournament champions from the GAC, MIAA and NSIC will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Division II Tournament Central Regional. The five at-large berths into that event are determined by the region rankings.
Arkansas Tech has made 12 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances in women’s basketball since 1998.
