Women’s Basketball fifth in latest WBCA Rankings; fourth consecutive week in Top 10

Fort Hays State University Women’s Basketball slipped three spots to No. 5 in the latest Women’s Basketball Coaches Association/USA Today Top 25, released Tuesday by the organization. FHSU previously was second with 735 votes, and fell to fifth with 597 votes.The poll saw previous No. 1 Lewis drop one spot to No. 2, while Alaska-Anchorage climbed into the top spot. Rounding out the Top 5 ahead of FHSU was Limestone (No. 3) and West Texas A&M (No. 4). FHSU (22-2, 14-1 Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) saw its 21-game win streak come to an end on Saturday at Pittsburg State, though FHSU is still 5-2 against ranked opponents this season and 2-1 in Top 10 matchups on the year. Pitt State moved up to No. 7 in the most recent rankings, while fellow MIAA opponent Emporia State fell to No. 13 after a loss to Northeastern State. Other conference opponents listed in the rankings were Washburn (receiving 25 votes) and Missouri Southern (receiving six votes).In the MIAA standings, Fort Hays State holds a one-game lead over Pitt State and a three-game lead over ESU with four games to go, and has already locked up a first round bye in the MIAA Tournament. FHSU is the only team so far in the conference to guarantee itself a spot in the MIAA quarterfinals in Kansas City, Mo., in early March.This Wednesday, the first of four official NCAA Region Rankings are released as part of the run-up to the NCAA Central Regional, held March 13-15 at the top school in the region. FHSU is the only team in the region (comprised of teams from the MIAA, NSIC and GAC) with just two losses on the year.FHSU is also ranked No. 1 in two other national polls: BennettRank and Massey Ratings. Information on those polls can be found using the links above.Fort Hays State closes out its home portion of the 2014-15 regular season with Senior Night on Wednesday against Washburn. Game time is set for 5:30 p.m.