By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State Women’s Basketball remained 10th in the latest NCAA Central Region Rankings, released on Wednesday (Mar. 1). The Tigers are one of six MIAA programs ranked in the top 10 of the region.
The Tigers are 19-11 overall on the year, including a 17-11 record against Division II opponents and a 17-10 in-region record. Fort Hays State has played the toughest strength-of-schedule in the region at .571. Since the last region rankings release FHSU played Nebraska-Kearney, the top ranked team in the region, which only upped the Tigers’ strength of schedule value even more.
Fort Hays State has been selected to play in each of the last five regional championships and in seven of the last eight tournaments. FHSU has been the top overall seed in the region four times over the last eight years and has played in a trio of regional finals.
The Tigers will play Missouri Western, the region’s eighth-ranked team in the quarterfinals of the MIAA Tournament on Friday (Mar. 1) in Kansas City. FHSU is 1-1 against Missouri Western so far this season. With the way the region rankings currently sit, it is very likely that the MIAA will have two very strong teams not make the NCAA Tournament this season, since the GAC will get an automatic bid and Southern Nazarene is that conference’s highest ranked team at No. 9 in the region.
Eight teams from the Central Region are selected to compete in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The three winners from conference tournaments within the region will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota Duluth has already locked its spot in the NCAA Tournament by winning the NSIC Tournament, but the MIAA and GAC Tournaments are this week.
2023 NCAA DII Central Region Rankings – March 1
| Rank | School | Overall DII Record | In-Region Record |
| 1 | Nebraska-Kearney | 25-3 | 25-3 |
| 2 | Minnesota Duluth | 25-3 | 25-3 |
| 3 | Central Missouri | 22-3 | 22-3 |
| 4 | Minnesota State Mankato | 23-3 | 23-3 |
| 5 | Augustana (South Dakota) | 22-4 | 22-4 |
| 6 | Pittsburg State | 20-6 | 20-6 |
| 7 | Missouri Southern State | 23-6 | 21-6 |
| 8 | Missouri Western | 22-6 | 21-6 |
| 9 | Southern Nazarene | 24-4 | 24-4 |
| 10 | Fort Hays State | 17-11 | 17-10 |