Clayton State women slip to No. 6 in USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll

USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll (March 6)
LILBURN, Ga. – March 6, 2012 – With the 2012 NCAA Division II National Tournament on the horizon, the Clayton State Laker women's basketball team slipped three spots to No. 6 in the nation in the new USA Today/ESPN Division II Top 25 poll released on Tuesday.

Clayton State (28-3) received 558 points and three first-place votes in this week's poll - 34 points behind No. 5-ranked Bentley (27-3). Clayton State won two out of three games last week at the Peach Belt Conference Tournament. The Lakers defeated Augusta State 69-41 and Lander 71-63 to advance the championship game. However, Clayton State dropped a 52-47 decision against USC Aiken on Sunday in the PBC Championship.

Clayton State is one of three Peach Belt Conference teams ranked this week. USC Aiken (26-3) is ranked seventh, up two spots from No. 9, while Lander (21-7) drops one spot from No. 23 to No. 24.

There was a lot of moving and shaking in this week's Top 10, starting at the top. Wayne State (29-2) takes over as the new No.1 team in the nation in Division II, followed by Ashland (28-1) and Edinboro (28-1). The previous top-ranked team - Cal-San Diego (28-2) - drops to No. 4, just ahead of Bentley. Rounding out the Top 10 behind Clayton State and USC Aiken is Alaska-Anchorage (27-4) at No. 8, Washburn (28-4) at No. 9 and Metro State (25-3) at No. 10.

Clayton State is advancing to the NCAA Division II National Tournament for an eighth straight season. The Lakers open NCAA Division II National Tournament play in the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional against Tusculum on Friday at 3 p.m. against Tusculum at USC Aiken.