Hillcat Women Move Up In National Poll

The Rogers State women's basketball team jumped three spots to No. 12 in the eighth regular season edition of the 2012-13 NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll.

The Hillcats are coming off a 3-0 week where they completed series sweeps over John Brown, Mid-America Christian and USAO.

One week after being tied at No. 1, Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) edges Oklahoma City for the top spot. The Lady Lions have won 11-straight and have earned the No. 1 spot for the fourth time since the 1999-2000 season. Second-ranked Oklahoma City has been equally dominant this season. The Stars are 21-2 with a 13-0 record in Sooner Athletic Conference (SAC) action and have not lost since Nov. 10, good for an NAIA-best 20-game winning streak.

Fellow SAC member, Lubbock Christian (Texas) slides up one spot to No. 3. The Lady Chaparrals, who held the No. 1 ranking six times this season, are 23-2 with both losses coming against Oklahoma City. Three of Lubbock Christian's four remaining games are on the road, including a key conference battle Thursday night against the Hillcats. Lubbock Christian and RSU are currently tied for second in the SAC with a 10-2 conference mark.

Similarly to Lubbock Christian, No. 4 Westminster (Utah) and fifth-ranked Cumberland improve one spot from last week with 254 and 245 points, respectively.

No. 14 Shawnee State's (Ohio) seven-spot leapfrog leads a poll that saw nine teams post multiple-position movements. No. 18 Campbellsville and No. 19 Georgetown (Ky.) fell the farthest amongst the poll this week, dropping six positions, as both teams lost recent games to unranked opponents.

No. 24 Southern Poly (Ga.), who joins the Top 25 for the first time since March 9, 2011, is this week's newcomer. The Hornets replace previous No. 24 Auburn Montgomery (Ala.). Southern Poly has won eight-straight en route to a 0.5 game lead over seventh-ranked Lee (Tenn.) in the Southern States Athletic Conference standings.

Ten of the 11 Division I women's basketball conferences and unaffiliated groups are represented throughout the Top 25, led by four squads from the Mid-South Conference: Cumberland, Shawnee State, Campbellsville and Georgetown.

The poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the conferences and unaffiliated group.

Rogers State (20-6, 10-2) will return to action on Thursday as the Cats continue their home stand against Lubbock Christian at 6 p.m.