Lady Bears jump from unranked to first with NCAA win
 
RALEIGH, N.C. – NCAA Division II champion Shaw University finished the 2011-2012 season sitting atop the USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 women's college basketball poll.  The ranking is a jump of 25 spaces since the last poll, which had the Lady Bears unranked.  Shaw claimed 26 of the 28 first place votes.
 
Shaw captured the NCAA Division II Championship last Friday when they upended Ashland 88-82 in overtime.  Ashland is ranked second in the final poll and collected the remaining two first-place votes.  The Lady Bears finished the season 29-6 and was 15-1 in the CIAA.
 
The final poll shows just how tough Shaw's road to the national championship truly was.  While their first round opponent, West Virginia Wesleyan, is unranked in the final poll, every other opponent is ranked, and four finished in the top ten.
 
Gannon, who Shaw beat in the second round, finishes the season ranked 21st.  Edinboro, who Shaw defeated to claim the Atlantic Region title, is ninth in the final poll.  Pittsburg State (sixth), Rollins (fifth) and Ashland (second) round out the Shaw opponents in the tournament.