Big Blue maintains hold on 2nd in NCAA regional rankings

INDIANAPOLIS -- The University of New England remains in the 2nd position among the ranks in the Northeast Region, as announced Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Committee. The release of the rankings includes games through February 19.

The Nor'easters (22-4) debuted two weeks ago in the sixth slot of the initial rankings, before climbing the chart to No. 2 last week, behind only Amherst College. The Lord Jeffs are the defending national champions and one of three women's teams in Division III without a loss (25-0) on their schedule this season.

UNE won its quarterfinal-round match of the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship on Tuesday against Nichols College, 63-55, to move forward to Thursday's semifinal versus Endicott College. The Nor'easters and Gulls will be meeting for the second time in the last 10 days.

The NCAA has regional advisory committees that rank the top six teams from eight geographic areas, with the exception of the Northeast, which puts together a list of 10 teams out of the 81 in the region. While the national committee will review and adjust the rankings accordingly after all games are completed this weekend (to assist with selecting team for participation in the NCAA Championship), this set will be the final one released to the public.

To view the complete list of teams regionally ranked by the NCAA, click HERE.

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