Ladyswish state rankings

1. Virginia (20-6, 8-3 ACC, 3rd)
RPI (as of Feb. 15): 12
Dominating Longwood and making a bigger impact against ACC teams are hardly the same. But if Simone Egwu's performance against the Lancers (18 points, 16 rebounds) boosts her confidence against the bigger fish on UVa.'s upcoming schedule, Tuesday's oddly-timed Longwood game was just the ticket.

2. Old Dominion (13-10, 11-2 CAA, 1st)
RPI: 61
The biggest reason the Lady Monarchs are in first place has been their ability to make just enough plays at crunch time. Eight of the Lady Monarchs' 13 CAA games have been decided by single digits; ODU is 7-1 in those games.

3. VCU (16-9, 9-4 CAA, 3rd)
RPI: 104
Rams used just six players in Sunday's 70-62 loss to Drexel, VCU's third defeat in its last four games. Ebony Patterson played 34 minutes, the other four starters all played at least 38. Winning on three straight days at the CAA tournament is going to be extremely tough for these guys.

4. James Madison (18-6, 8-5 CAA, 4th-tie)
RPI: 53
Dukes showed two weeks ago in routs of VCU and Drexel that at their best, they're capable of being the class of the CAA. But the team is just 5-4 since Jan. 17 and we can't shake the nagging sense that, save for occasional flashes, this team peaked in December.

5. Richmond (16-9, 5-5 Atlantic 10, 7th)
RPI: 72
The Atlantic 10 is very tough at the top and the Spiders have been forced to play the league's best teams on the road. Still, we expected more out of Richmond (all five of their A-10 losses have come by at least 12 points). For whatever the reason, this group simply hasn't played to its potential.

6. Liberty (18-5, 8-2 Big South, 2nd)
RPI: 103
On Feb. 8, Gardner-Webb became the first team in 106 games to shoot better than 50 percent from the field. In the Lady Flames' next game exactly one week later, they held Winthrop to 11.9 percent shooting in a 52-18 victory. Guess they're determined to start a new streak. By the way, the NCAA record for fewest points by one team in a game between two Division I schools is 16.

7. Hampton (14-10, 9-3 MEAC, 2nd)
RPI: 164
The Lady Pirates haven't just won eight in a row; they've dominated every step of the way. Monday's 90-80 decision over defending champion North Carolina A&T was the closest game in that stretch; the other seven victories all came by at least 13 points. Star forward Quanneisha Perry says humilty is the key to Hampton's surge.

8. Virginia Tech (13-12, 2-8 ACC, 11th)
RPI: 114
We didn't think this would be an issue when the Hokies had a 2-3 ACC record with wins over North Carolina and Miami. But with just four regular-season conference games left, Tech is going to have pick it up a bit to avoid finishing 2-12 in league play for the third straight year. Winning at Florida State or in the season finale at Virginia will be tall orders. But the Hokies will have excellent chances to take care of business in home games against Boston College and Clemson.

9. William and Mary (11-13, 4-9 CAA, 9th)
RPI: 186
Dawn Evans or no Dawn Evans, last week's win over James Madison had to feel huge in the Tribe locker room. Taysha Pye is averaging 29 points in her last two games. The Tribes' last two losses both came by the score of 63-60 and both were sealed when a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer failed to fall.

10. George Mason (8-16, 1-12 CAA, 12th)
RPI: 235
Patriots have lost eight straight and 13 out of 14. Yet they've still doubled their victory total from a year ago. Also, a pair of four-point road losses followed by a game effort Sunday against Old Dominion suggests that these guys are still battling. Can't wait to see what this team looks like when it adds some quality size next year.

11. Radford (5-17, 4-7 Big South, 6th-tie)
RPI: 261
Da'Naria Erwin-Spencer is the reigning Big South Freshman of the Week, but she'd probably trade that honor for some team success as the Lancers are mired in a season-long six-game losing streak. An upcoming pair of home games present prime opportunities to get off the schneid.

12. Longwood (7-18)
RPI: 262
Lancers ended their home schedule with a very respectable 6-4 record. Prior to Tuesday's mismatch against Virginia the Lancers had won three of four. They'll now wind up regular-season play with two very winnable road games at Savannah State and North Carolina Central.

13. Norfolk State (3-18, 0-12 MEAC, 11th)
RPI: 344
Thank goodness for Centenary (1-23), the only one of the 345 Division I teams with a lower RPI than NSU. A favorable upcoming schedule (Winston-Salem State and South Carolina State, both at home) gives the Spartans a chance to move up a few places.