INDIANAPOLIS --- For the third straight week, the Tusculum College women's basketball team is seventh in the NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, released Wednesday afternoon.

The Pioneers, the defending NCAA II Southeast Region Champions, are 16-6 overall and 14-6 against regional opponents, and are one of three South Atlantic Conference teams in the rankings. Mars Hill College is ranked eighth at 16-6 overall (14-6 in-region), while Wingate University remains ninth at 14-8 overall and in-region.

The tournament champions of the SAC, the Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas will earn automatic bids to the NCAA Southeast Regional tournament, along with five at-large selections. The Peach Belt has six teams included in this week's rankings: Clayton State (1st), Lander (2nd), USC Aiken (3rd), Francis Marion (4th), Georgia College (6th) and Columbus State (10th). Conference Carolinas' lone representative in the rankings is Barton in fifth place.

The 10 teams in this week's rankings were unchanged, with the only movements involving the swapping of the top two spots between Clayton State and Lander along with fifth and sixth between Barton and Georgia College. Clayton State beat Lander 83-81 last Thursday in a battle of not only the top two teams in the region, but the USA TODAY/ESPN WBCA Top 25 poll.

Regional rankings will be released weekly on Wednesdays through March 2, with the tournament field to be announced on Sunday, March 6.

Following Wednesday's conference tilt at Anderson, Tusculum will return to action on Saturday for a 2 p.m. SAC contest against visiting Catawba.

- NCAA -

NCAA II Women's Basketball Southeast Region Ranking
through February 13, 2011
Rk. School Overall In-Region
1 Clayton State 23-0 23-0
2 Lander 22-1 21-1
3 USC Aiken 19-4 18-3
4 Francis Marion 13-7 13-7
5 Barton 20-2 20-2
6 Georgia College 14-6 14-6
7 TUSCULUM 16-6 14-6
8 Mars Hill 16-6 14-6
9 Wingate 14-8 14-8
10 Columbus State 13-7 13-7
Tusculum opponents in italics