SMU post Christine Elliot taking a free throw shot. (MICHAEL DANSER/The Daily Campus)

With just three games left in regular season, the SMU women’s basketball team (17-9, 7-6 conference) is sitting in a three-way tie for third place.

All the teams are vying for one of the top four seeds, which guarantee a first round bye in the conference tournament.

The Mustangs do not necessarily have to win out to keep their spot in the top four, but with the conference as close as it is, a single slip up could send SMU tumbling down the ranks.
SMU is tied with East Carolina University and the University of Houston. The Mustangs led the pack due to tiebreakers. The University of Texas at El Paso, Marshall University and Rice University are just one game behind with conference records of 6-6.

Should any of the top teams lose, it could mean a complete shuffling of the rankings.
The Mustangs will finish out their season at home, with the three lowest ranked teams in the conference as their final opponents. SMU starts its home-stand this Thursday against the University of Central Florida, and then plays the University of Southern Miss Saturday.

This will be the first game the Mustangs play against the Knights this season. The last time these two teams met was last season in the Conference USA semifinals when the Mustangs were defeated by UCF, 62-51. The Knights went on to win the C-USA tournament over Southern Miss.

Regardless of the outcome of the game, the Mustangs will have one day to prepare for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles game Saturday. The meeting between SMU and Southern Miss will also be the first of the season. They battled for first place in the conference last year when Southern Miss edged the Mustangs, 75-65.

SMU started out the season strong, and faded in the middle, but none of that matters now. If the team can dig deep and win their final three games, they will have both momentum and confidence heading into the tournament.