Fort Hays State University Women’s Basketball remained No. 4 in the WBCA/USA Today Top 25 Poll, released on Tuesday. The Tigers hold their ranking for the second straight week after winning their final two games of the regular season this past week.
There was no movement among the top nine teams in the nation from last week, other than a tie for fifth in the poll being split this week. Alaska-Anchorage remains on top of the rankings, followed by Lewis University (Ill.) and Limestone College (S.C.).
FHSU (26-2, 18-1 MIAA) closed out the regular season as the MIAA Regular Season Champion, the program’s first-ever outright conference title in its NCAA Division II history. The Tigers escaped Edmond, Okla., with a one-point victory over Central Oklahoma, before winning by 22 in the regular season finale at Northeastern State. FHSU has the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Tournament and will face either No. 8 seed Washburn or No. 9 seed Northeastern State in the quarterfinals in Kansas City on Friday at 12 pm.
The Tigers have been slotted No. 1 in the first two releases of NCAA Central Region Rankings, with the third to come on Wednesday. The selection show for the NCAA Tournament will be Sunday night (Mar. 8) at 9 pm. The NCAA Tournament is set to begin on Friday, March 13. FHSU is the only school in the region (comprised of teams from the MIAA, NSIC and GAC) with less than four losses on the year.
FHSU is also ranked in two other ranking services: No. 1 in BennettRank and No. 2 in the Massey Ratings. The Tigers have been No. 1 five consecutive weeks.
Below are the WBCA Division II Rankings for March 3.
Rank | Institution – First Place Votes | Previous Rank | Record | Total Points |
1 | University of Alaska – Anchorage – 24 | 1 | 27-1 | 786 |
2 | Lewis University (Ill.) – 7 | 2 | 27-1 | 769 |
3 | Limestone College (S.C.) – 1 | 3 | 28-1 | 707 |
4 | Fort Hays State University (Kan.) | 4 | 26-2 | 684 |
5 | Columbus State University (Ga.) | T5 | 28-1 | 655 |
6 | West Texas A&M University | T5 | 24-2 | 630 |
7 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania (Pa.) | 7 | 24-2 | 572 |
8 | Drury University (Mo.) | 8 | 23-3 | 559 |
9 | Michigan Technological University | 9 | 24-2 | 531 |
10 | Emporia State University (Kan.) | T12 | 22-4 | 485 |
11 | Adelphi University (N.Y.) | 10 | 25-3 | 481 |
12 | Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania | 14 | 23-3 | 392 |
13 | Pittsburg State University (Kan.) | 11 | 25-5 | 361 |
14 | Stonehill College (Mass.) | T12 | 22-4 | 352 |
15 | Union University (Tenn.) | 16 | 23-3 | 340 |
16 | Wayne State University (Mich.) | 17 | 22-4 | 310 |
17 | Wayne State College (Neb.) | 18 | 27-4 | 276 |
T18 | California University of Pennsylvania (Pa.) | 20 | 23-4 | 200 |
T18 | Humboldt State University (Calif.) | 15 | 23-4 | 200 |
20 | Seattle Pacific University (Wash.) | 19 | 21-5 | 153 |
21 | University of New Haven (Conn.) | 21 | 23-4 | 151 |
22 | Cedarville University (Ohio) | T22 | 25-3 | 135 |
23 | University of District of Columbia | T22 | 25-3 | 128 |
24 | Nova Southeastern University (Fla.) | 25 | 21-5 | 79 |
25 | Rollins College (Fla.) | 24 | 21-5 | 77 |