INDIANAPOLIS – The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team
sits second in the NCAA Division II Central Region rankings for the second week
in a row, released Wednesday (March 6) by the league office. It is the final
set of regional rankings that will be announced before the official NCAA
Division II Women’s Basketball Championship bracket is released on Sunday,
March 10.
The 27-1 Tigers wrapped up the regular season with two more home wins last
week, including a win over eighth-ranked Pittsburg State. Southwestern Oklahoma
State, also 27-1 overall, sits atop the rankings after picking up a pair of
road wins over the final week of the regular season.
There was a bit of shuffling in the rankings below the top two, with Central
Missouri sliding back up to No. 3 after sitting at No. 4 last week. No. 7
Lindenwood and No. 8 Pittsburg State both moved up one spot after No. 9
Concordia-St. Paul dropped two slots. East Central enters the region ranks for
the first time at No. 10, replacing Washburn.
The Tigers are 5-1 against teams currently ranked in the top 10 in the region,
while SWOSU is 2-1.
The champions of the MIAA, GAC and NSIC tournaments will all earn an automatic
bid into the NCAA Championship field, with the next five teams in the region
also earning an at-large selection. The top team in the region earns the right
to host the regional tournament, which will be held March 15-18.
After finishing the regular season with only one loss for the first time in
program history, the Tigers will look to keep the momentum going into the
postseason. Fort Hays State will open play in the quarterfinals of the MIAA
Women’s Basketball Championship at 6 p.m. Thursday (March 7). The top-seeded
Tigers await the winner of No. 8 Nebraska-Kearney and No. 9 Missouri Western.
The complete NCAA Division II Central Region rankings for February 27, 2019 can
be found below.
| Rank | School | Overall DII Record | In-Region Record | Last Week |
| 1 | Southwestern Oklahoma State | 27-1 | 27-1 | 1 |
| 2 | Fort Hays State | 27-1 | 24-1 | 2 |
| 3 | Central Missouri | 22-5 | 20-4 | 4 |
| 4 | Minnesota State-Moorhead | 25-5 | 23-5 | 3 |
| 5 | Minnesota Duluth | 21-6 | 21-6 | 5 |
| 6 | Emporia State | 19-7 | 19-7 | 6 |
| 7 | Lindenwood (Missouri) | 20-6 | 20-6 | 8 |
| 8 | Pittsburg State | 18-7 | 17-7 | 9 |
| 9 | Concordia-St. Paul | 19-7 | 19-7 | 7 |
| 10 | East Central | 21-7 | 21-7 | NR |