KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After winning the outright Southern States Athletic Conference Eastern Division championship and earning an automatic bid to the NAIA Division I national tournament, the Southern Polytechnic State University women's basketball team remained ranked 29th nationally with 27 points in the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Postseason Top 25 Poll that was released on Wednesday.

Southern Polytechnic collected 21 points for 29th place in the previous national coaches' poll on March 12 and received 34 points for No. 27 the week before. Southern Poly was 33rd with five points on Feb. 25 and picked up six points in each of the two previous ratings, tying for 31st on Feb. 18 after being alone at No. 31 on Feb. 11. The Hornets were 30th for three straight weeks, earning 14 points on Feb. 4, 13 on Jan. 28 and 14 on Jan. 21. SPSU was also 31st with seven points on Jan. 14 and did not appear in the Jan. 7 poll. Southern Poly tallied six points in the Dec. 10 poll, tying for No. 33, and was rated 20th nationally with 95 points in the preseason.

The NAIA coaches' polls are voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the NAIA Division I conferences, independents and unaffiliated groups. The entire poll can be viewed at naia.org.

National champion Oklahoma City University, which ended with a 27-4 overall record, is atop of the final poll after getting 250 points and all 10 first-place votes. Following Oklahoma City are Freed-Hardeman University with 242 points and a 36-2 overall mark, Vanguard University (229 points, 27-2 overall), Westminster College in Utah (221, 26-3) and Campbellsville University (219, 32-4).

The Hornets were 2-2 this season versus squads ranked in the current Top 25 and 3-3 against teams listed in the latest rating. SPSU had wins over 16th-ranked Bethel University (Tenn.), No. 19 Xavier University (La.) and No. 31 Martin Methodist College. The losses, all coming away from home, were to Campbellsville, 27th-rated the University of Mobile and No. 15 Loyola University (La.).

Along with Southern Poly, other SSAC members appearing in the current poll are Loyola (134 points, 23-12 overall), Bethel (133, 23-11), Mobile (46, 23-9) and Martin Methodist (nine, 23-9).

The Hornets concluded the 2013-14 campaign at 23-8 overall after going 16-4 in SSAC play. SPSU made its fourth trip in the last five years to the NAIA Division I national event.