Laker women ranked seventh in USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll
Highest national preseason ranking for Clayton State, which returns two starters from last season’s 29-6 Division II "Final Four" squad

MORROW, Ga. – October 31, 2007 – Fresh off the best season in program history, expectations are once again for the Clayton State Laker women’s basketball with the start of season just a few weeks away.

That was evident by the release of the USA Today ESPN Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll on Wednesday. It has Clayton State ranked seventh in the nation as voted on by a group of 29 head coaches at the Division II level - the highest preseason national ranking ever for a Laker women’s basketball team.. The Lakers are actually tied for seventh with Bentley - each getting 467 votes.

In addition, Clayton State also received one of the possible 28 first-place votes.

"We keep in mind that it’s all just pre-season hype, but this is perhaps the greatest recognition that we have ever received on a national scale," said Clayton State head coach Dennis Cox, who is an impressive 79-19 in his fourth season at the Laker helm. "To be preseason ranked seventh by a panel of great coaches from around the country is truly an honor and is but another indicator of the respect that our program has gained in a short period of time."

This is the second Top 15 national ranking of the preseason for Clayton State. Earlier this month, the Lakers were ranked 12th in the nation in the Division II Bulletin Top 25 – the highest preseason national ranking ever for a Laker women’s basketball team.

The Lakers are coming off a banner 29-6 2006-07 season in which the Lakers won both the Peach Belt Conference regular season and tournament championships, and advanced to the "Final Four" of the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

Clayton State is the only Peach Belt team ranked in the Division II Top 25 Coaches’ Poll. The Lakers will square off against two other teams ranked in the Top 10 – Delta State and Southern Connecticut State. Clayton State travels to fifth-ranked Delta State on Dec. 9, followed by a trip to second-ranked and defending Division II National Champion Southern Connecticut State on Dec. 16.

The Lakers return two starters off last season’s squad – senior All-Peach Belt Conference forward Shantel Ragin and senior wing Roberta Phillips. Also back is senior center Lynette Jackson, one of the nation’s leaders in blocked shots last season, and junior wing and 3-point threat Marie St. Fort.

On top of that, Cox has brought in a stellar recruiting class consisting of two Division II transfers, a Georgia All-State high school standout and five All-Region and All-American caliber players from the junior college level in Florida.

The Lakers play their first preseason exhibition game at home on Nov. 10 against Atlanta-area NAIA program Southern Polytechnic State. Clayton State officially opens the 2007-08 season at the Eagle Club Classic at Carson-Newman on Nov. 16-17.