INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — The Concordia-St. Paul women's basketball team (24-6, 17-5 NSIC) moved up to third in this week's edition of the NCAA Central Region Rankings. This is the third edition of the region rankings and only includes games played through Sunday, Mar. 1, therefore CSP's NSIC Semifinal and Championship results were not considered in this week's ranking. 

CSP flipped spots with No. 18-ranked Harding (23-5, 17-5 GAC) in this week's ranking moving up to third in the region. A total of four NSIC teams were ranked in the central region, with No.3-ranked Minnesota State (29-2, 21-1 NSIC) staying put atop the region slotting at number one, while Minnesota Duluth (20-8, 17-5 NSIC) and UMary (23-10, 15-7) both moved up two spots to seventh and eighth in the region after being ranked in the ninth and 10th spots last week. 

As a result Northwestern Oklahoma (19-9, 14-8 GAC) and Arkansas Tech (18-8, 14-8 GAC) slid down to ninth and 10th in the region and are now on the outside looking in as the top eight teams in the region advance to the tournament. 

No. 11-ranked Fort Hays State (24-4, 15-4 MIAA)  stayed put at No.2 in the region, while Harding flipped spots with CSP moving down to fourth in the region, Central Missouri (23-5, 17-2) and Washburn (21-7, 14-5 MIAA)  remained at five and six in the region rankings.

 The MIAA and GAC will both play their conference tournaments later this week, with the winner of each receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Region Tournament. CSP punched their ticket to the regional tournament after winning the NSIC Tournament Championship earlier this week, receiving the automatic bid. 

The NSIC, the Great American Conference (GAC) and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) make up the 41-team NCAA Central Region. The top eight teams in the region advance to the NCAA Central Region Tournament on March 13, 14 & 16. Automatic bids are granted to the winners of each conference, with the remaining five spots being awarded as at-large bids. 

The final region rankings will be revealed on Sunday, Mar. 8 at 9:30 p.m. as part of the 2026 Division II Women's Basketball Selection Show. The Central Region Tournament is set to take place Mar. 13-16.