By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
Road wins over a pair of in-state rivals helped the Fort Hays State women’s basketball team maintain its spot on top of the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll Tuesday (Dec. 7). Fort Hays State nearly climbed into the top spot in this week’s D2SIDA Media Poll, with the Tigers coming in three points behind top-ranked Alaska-Anchorage to once again occupy the No. 2 spot.
The Tigers were a near-unanimous selection at the top of the coaches poll, with FHSU receiving 20 of 23 first-place votes this week. It’s the most first-place votes the Tigers have ever received in the DII coaches poll. Fort Hays State improved its point total by 30 points, up to 567 this week. The Tigers are 35 points in front of second-place Lubbock Christian.
Fort Hays State topped four of the 16 ballots in this week’s media poll, picking up four additional points for a total of 372. The top four teams in the media poll are separated by just 15 points (Alaska-Anchorage 375, FHSU 372, Texas A&M-Commerce 369, Drury 360).
This is the third week in a row the Tigers have been ranked first in the country and the fifth release all-time with the Tigers atop the coaches poll. FHSU is 7-1 when ranked first in the coaches poll and 118-31 all-time when ranked in the top 25.
No. 17 Nebraska-Kearney, this weekend’s opponent for the Tigers (Dec. 11, 2 p.m.), is the only other conference school ranked in the coaches poll, while the Lopers and Missouri Western are ranked 14th and 20th, respectively, in the media poll.
Fort Hays State has been listed in the top 25 at some point during nine of the last 10 seasons, including appearances in the top five in six of the last eight campaigns.
| WBCA DII Coaches Poll – December 7, 2021 | ||||
| Rk. | Team (1st) | Rcd. | Pts. | Last |
| 1. | Fort Hays State (20) | 7-0 | 567 | 1 |
| 2. | Lubbock Christian (2) | 8-1 | 532 | 2 |
| 3. | Drury | 10-1 | 501 | 3 |
| 4. | North Georgia (1) | 6-0 | 498 | 4 |
| 5. | Texas A&M-Commerce | 6-0 | 493 | 5 |
| 6. | Lander | 6-1 | 460 | 6 |
| 7. | Alaska Anchorage | 6-0 | 427 | 8 |
| 8. | Glenville State | 7-0 | 397 | 9 |
| 9. | Indiana, Pa. | 8-0 | 376 | 10 |
| 10. | Ashland | 6-1 | 347 | 11 |
| 11. | Western Washington | 7-0 | 315 | 14 |
| 12. | Azusa Pacific | 6-1 | 310 | 12 |
| 13. | Tampa | 9-2 | 262 | 15 |
| 14. | Gannon | 5-1 | 240 | 7 |
| 15. | Valdosta State | 6-1 | 232 | 18 |
| 16. | Colorado Mines | 7-1 | 185 | 19 |
| 17. | Nebraska Kearney | 7-1 | 172 | 21 |
| 18. | Union, Tenn. | 6-2 | 162 | 20 |
| 19. | Grand Valley State | 6-1 | 132 | 13 |
| 20. | Lee, Tenn. | 8-1 | 127 | 16 |
| 21. | Southwestern Oklahoma St. | 8-2 | 121 | 22 |
| 22. | Colorado State-Pueblo | 6-1 | 91 | 24 |
| 23. | Saint Cloud State | 5-1 | 80 | NR |
| 24. | Michigan Tech | 6-1 | 78 | 23 |
| 25. | Barton | 6-1 | 68 | 17 |
| D2SIDA Media Poll – December 7, 2021 | ||||
| Rk. | Team (1st) | Rcd. | Pts. | Last |
| 1 | Alaska-Anchorage (9) | 6-0 | 375 | 1 |
| 2 | Fort Hays State (4) | 7-0 | 372 | 2 |
| 3 | Texas A&M-Commerce | 6-0 | 369 | 3 |
| 4 | Drury (3) | 10-1 | 360 | 4 |
| 5 | Lander | 5-1 | 336 | 5 |
| 6 | Lubbock Christian | 8-1 | 333 | 6 |
| 7 | North Georgia | 6-0 | 297 | 7 |
| 8 | Indiana (Pa.) | 8-0 | 278 | 10 |
| 9 | Western Washington | 7-0 | 249 | 11 |
| 10 | Ashland | 6-1 | 247 | 16 |
| 11 | Tampa | 9-2 | 228 | 15 |
| 12 | Catawba | 7-0 | 194 | 14 |
| 13 | Glenville State | 7-0 | 193 | 17 |
| 14 | Nebraska-Kearney | 7-1 | 174 | 20 |
| 15 | Colorado School of Mines | 7-1 | 163 | 19 |
| 16 | Union (Tenn.) | 6-2 | 156 | NR |
| 17 | Bentley | 5-2 | 150 | 21 |
| 18 | Michigan Tech | 6-1 | 125 | RV |
| 19 | Lee | 8-1 | 100 | 8 |
| 20 | Missouri Western | 6-0 | 81 | NR |
| 21 | USciences | 5-1 | 80 | 24 |
| 22 | Shepherd | 6-0 | 65 | RV |
| 23 | Cal State-East Bay | 7-1 | 50 | NR |
| 24 | Grand Valley State | 6-1 | 46 | 12 |
| 25 | Minnesota State | 7-0 | 41 | NR |