The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team has continued its climb in the national polls after a pair of conference victories, moving to No. 6 in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll while sliding up to fourth in the D2SIDA Media Poll.
The Tigers are up three spots in the Coaches poll after earning a pair of wins as the ninth-ranked team in the country last week. Fort Hays State was one of four schools to be listed atop at least one ballot this week, picking up one first-place vote. The Tigers earned 469 points in the voting process, 15 points behind fifth-place Bentley.
Fort Hays State is the top-ranked team in the central region in both polls, with Central Missouri ranked 15th in the Coaches poll and Augustana ranked 14th in the Media poll.
The Tigers are 4-1 all-time as the sixth-ranked team in the country after sitting at that spot in the polls twice during the 2014-15 season.
It is the best ranking for the Tigers in the Coaches poll since they were ranked fifth on February 9, 2016 while it is their top spot in the Media poll since they were No. 1 on December 15, 2015.
Two other MIAA programs join the Tigers and Jennies in the Coaches poll, with Central Oklahoma and Emporia State clinging to last week’s rankings of No. 23 and No. 24, respectively.
The Tigers will take a brief hiatus from conference play over the holiday season before returning to league play against Central Missouri in January. Tabor College opens the non-conference stretch when the Bluejays come to Gross Memorial Coliseum for a 7 p.m. tip Friday (Dec. 14).
Below are the complete national polls for December 11, 2018.
| WBCA Coaches Poll – Week 4 | D2SIDA Media Poll – Week 4 | |||||||||
| Rk | Team (1st) | Rcd | Pts | Prev | Rk | Team (1st) | Rcd | Pts | Prev | |
| 1 | Union (Tenn.) (18) | 9-0 | 594 | 2 | 1 | Union (14) | 9-0 | 392 | 1 | |
| 2 | Indiana (Pa.) (3) | 8-0 | 563 | 3 | 2 | Bentley (1) | 10-0 | 380 | 3 | |
| 3 | West Texas A&M | 8-0 | 538 | 4 | 3 | West Texas A&M | 8-0 | 371 | 4 | |
| 4 | Drury | 9-0 | 504 | 6 | 4 | Fort Hays State | 8-0 | 345 | 6 | |
| 5 | Bentley | 10-0 | 484 | 5 | 5 | Northwest Nazarene (1) | 9-0 | 338 | 7 | |
| 6 | Fort Hays State (1) | 8-0 | 469 | 9 | 6 | Lewis | 6-1 | 313 | 9 | |
| 7 | Northwest Nazarene | 9-0 | 432 | 10 | 7 | IUP | 8-0 | 294 | 11 | |
| 8 | Ashland (2) | 8-1 | 428 | 1 | 8 | USciences | 8-0 | 278 | 10 | |
| 9 | University of the Sciences | 8-0 | 392 | 11 | 9 | UC San Diego | 8-0 | 269 | 12 | |
| 10 | UC San Diego | 8-0 | 369 | 12 | 10 | Drury | 9-0 | 256 | 14 | |
| 11 | Grand Valley State | 8-1 | 330 | 15 | 11 | North Georgia | 6-1 | 253 | 13 | |
| 12 | Virginia Union | 8-1 | 321 | 8 | 12 | California | 8-0 | 218 | 17 | |
| 13 | Alaska Anchorage | 7-1 | 293 | 13 | 13 | Florida Southern | 6-1 | 164 | 20 | |
| 14 | California (Pa.) | 8-0 | 278 | 17 | 14 | Augustana | 10-1 | 163 | 24 | |
| 15 | Central Missouri | 7-2 | 249 | 7 | T15 | Grand Valley | 8-1 | 159 | RV | |
| 16 | North Georgia | 6-1 | 233 | 16 | T15 | Alaska Anchorage | 7-1 | 159 | 18 | |
| 17 | Florida Southern | 6-1 | 202 | 18 | 17 | Jefferson | 9-0 | 155 | 19 | |
| 18 | Black Hills State | 6-1 | 182 | 14 | 18 | St. Mary’s (Texas) | 8-1 | 138 | NR | |
| 19 | Thomas Jefferson Univ. | 9-0 | 165 | 25 | 19 | Virginia Union | 8-1 | 109 | 5 | |
| 20 | Lewis | 6-1 | 163 | 22 | 20 | Wingate | 6-2 | 103 | 22 | |
| 21 | Saint Mary’s (Texas) | 8-1 | 144 | NR | 21 | Ashland | 8-1 | 96 | 2 | |
| 22 | Angelo State | 5-1 | 85 | 21 | 22 | Southwestern Okla. | 8-1 | 88 | RV | |
| 23 | Central Oklahoma | 8-1 | 68 | 23 | 23 | Angelo State | 5-1 | 37 | 16 | |
| 24 | Emporia State | 7-2 | 53 | 24 | 24 | Central Missouri | 6-2 | 30 | 8 | |
| 25 | Stonehill | 8-2 | 51 | 19 | 25 | Central Washington | 6-1 | 25 | R | |