Two area women’s college basketball teams are making noise in regional polls.

Fort Valley State is No. 6 in the NCAA Division II South Region while Georgia College & State is No. 8 in the Southeast Region. Yes, the teams are barely 70 miles apart yet in different regions. Eight teams from each of eight regions make it into the NCAA tournament.

Three other Peach Belt Conference teams are in the Southeast poll: No. 2 Francis Marion, No. 5 USC Aiken and No. 6 Clayton State University.

FVSU has played three of the top five teams in the poll: No. 1 Rollins, No. 2 Delta State and No. 5 West Georgia. The Lady Wildcats lost to them by a total of 17 points.

“The reason we lost those ballgames we lost is know-how,” FVSU head coach Lonnie Bartley said. “We’re just young. We didn’t know how, but it prepared us for the conference.”

GCSU is 3-2 against the non-conference region teams with wins over Valdosta State (75-65), Wingate (63-55) and Newberry (68-42) and losses to top-ranked Lenoir-Rhyne (65-63 and 67-59).

In the latest USA Today/ESPN Division II poll, Clark Atlanta is No. 24 and GCSU is tied for 36th. FVSU, which has lost to No. 11 Rollins, No. 32 Delta State and No. 42 Florida Tech, received no votes.

FULL RANKINGS

USA Today/ESPN Top 25

The SIAC Council of Presidents and Athletic Directors’ Committee in conjunction with CIAA Board of Directors have decided to focus their efforts toward the future and suspend the game for 2008. “Obviously, the CIAA is disappointed that there will be no Pioneer Bowl this year,” states Leon Kerry, CIAA Commissioner. “However, we look forward to working closely with the SIAC over the next year to plan the finest Pioneer Bowl in 2009.”

The SIAC and CIAA intend to continue the rich history of the Pioneer Bowl as the only NCAA sanctioned bowl game for HBCU’s in Division II. “We want to make the Pioneer Bowl a destination for HBCU football fans. We want our participating student-athletes to have a once in a lifetime type of experience and will be working on making that happen,” says George Mategakis, SIAC Interim Commissioner.

The Bowl Game features the Champion of the SIAC and the CIAA and began in 1997. The SIAC leads the series between the two conferences 8-2 with Tuskegee University participating in eight of the games. The CIAA was established in 1912 and the SIAC in 1913 and are the two oldest Historically Black Colleges and Universities athletic conferences.

–Courtesy PioneerBowl.com