Breaking down the conference races--Part 1 (Women)

Time for another edition of "Breaking down the conference races."  Saturday is the final day of the regular season, with teams either jockeying for position for next week's conference tournaments, or just to get there, period.  Here's how the races in each of three conferences covered by D-II South Sports looks heading into this weekend.

Gulf South Conference:  North Alabama (20-5, 11-0) is riding a 12-game winning streak heading into the GSC tournament, as the Lady Lions will be the No. 1 seed out of the East Division going into next week.  West Alabama (18-7), Valdosta State (13-12), and Alabama-Huntsville (11-14) are all tied for second place at 6-5 with one game to play, with West Georgia (8-17) sitting just one game back of the fourth and final tourney spot at 5-6.  In the West, Arkansas Tech (23-2, 12-1) can lock up the No. 1 seed in that division with a win over Ouachita Baptist, while Delta State (23-2, 11-2) can force a tie for the final GSC West crown with a win over Arkansas-Monticello, plus an ATU loss.

Peach Belt Conference:  Thanks to their upset win over Lander (25-2, 15-2) Wednesday night, USC Aiken (24-4, 16-2) is assured of earning no worse than a share of the PBC East Division title.  Still, the Lady Bearcats can pull themselves into that tie with a win over Augusta State this weekend.  In the PBC West, North Georgia (15-12, 6-10) and Montevallo (9-16, 5-11) both find themselves in a fight for the final conference tournament berth from that division.

SIAC:  Fort Valley State (19-9, 17-5) clinched the SIAC regular season title with an 81-79 overtime win over Tuskegee Thursday night.  Meanwhile, Albany State (17-11, 16-6) must settle for the No. 2 seed for next week's SIAC tournament after losing to Stillman 75-67 at home on that same night.