The Fort Hays State women’s basketball team will enter the postseason ranked third in both national polls, released Tuesday (March 5). The Tigers are third in the WBCA Division II Coaches Poll for the third time this season while they sit third in the D2SIDA National Media Poll for the fourth week in a row and fifth time overall.
After two wins last week, the Tigers have won 10 games all-time when ranked third in the coaches poll, tied for the most wins at any spot in the standings (10-2 when ranked third, fourth 10-1). Overall, Fort Hays State is 78-23 when ranked in the top 25.
This is the third time Fort Hays State has entered the MIAA Championships ranked nationally. The Tigers are 3-2 in the conference tournament as a nationally ranked team, entering the 2015 tournament ranked sixth and the 2016 tournament ranked 16th.
Fort Hays State is the top-ranked team among both MIAA and Central Region rivals. Central Missouri is ranked 24th in this week’s coaches poll and 21st in the media variety. Southwestern Oklahoma State is ranked eighth according to the coaches and fifth in the media poll.
The Tigers head into postseason play Thursday (March 7) when they take on the winner of Nebraska-Kearney and Missouri Western in the MIAA Championship quarterfinals. First tip from historic Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, Mo. is set for 6 p.m.
The complete national polls for March 5, 2019 can be found below.
| WBCA Division II Coaches Poll – Week 15 | D2SIDA National Media Poll – Week 15 | |||||||||
| Rk. | Team (1st) | Rcd. | Pts. | Prev. | Rk. | Team (1st) | Rcd. | Pts. | Prev. | |
| 1 | Drury (24) | 28-0 | 600 | 1 | 1 | Drury (14) | 28-0 | 374 | 1 | |
| 2 | UC San Diego | 26-0 | 574 | 2 | 2 | UC San Diego (1) | 26-0 | 361 | 2 | |
| 3 | Fort Hays State | 27-1 | 545 | 3 | 3 | Fort Hays State | 27-1 | 342 | 3 | |
| 4 | University of the Sciences | 27-1 | 523 | 4 | 4 | Usciences | 27-1 | 318 | 4 | |
| 5 | Alaska Anchorage | 27-1 | 485 | 6 | 5 | Southwestern Oklahoma | 27-1 | 309 | 5 | |
| 6 | Ashland | 26-2 | 446 | 7 | 6 | Anderson (S.C.) | 26-2 | 282 | 7 | |
| 7 | Grand Valley State | 26-2 | 442 | 8 | 7 | Virginia Union | 27-2 | 281 | 8 | |
| 8 | Southwestern Oklahoma St. | 27-1 | 415 | 10 | 8 | Alaska Anchorage | 27-1 | 274 | 11 | |
| 9 | Northwest Nazarene | 26-2 | 395 | 5 | 9 | Union | 26-2 | 272 | T9 | |
| 10 | Union (Tenn.) | 26-2 | 373 | 11 | 10 | West Texas A&M | 25-3 | 234 | 13 | |
| 11 | Virginia Union | 25-2 | 363 | 12 | T11 | Grand Valley | 26-2 | 214 | 14 | |
| 12 | Bentley | 27-2 | 350 | 13 | T11 | Northwest Nazarene | 26-2 | 214 | 6 | |
| 13 | Thomas Jefferson Univ. | 26-2 | 289 | 14 | 13 | Bentley | 27-2 | 207 | 15 | |
| 14 | Indiana (Pa.) | 23-3 | 285 | 8 | 14 | Glenville State | 26-2 | 165 | 20 | |
| 15 | Anderson (S.C.) | 26-2 | 262 | 16 | 15 | Lewis | 25-3 | 158 | T9 | |
| 16 | West Texas A&M | 25-3 | 221 | 18 | 16 | Colorado Mesa | 23-3 | 135 | 19 | |
| 17 | Florida Southern | 25-3 | 194 | 19 | 17 | Ashland | 26-2 | 120 | 17 | |
| 18 | Glenville State | 26-2 | 190 | 20 | 18 | Florida Southern | 25-3 | 120 | 21 | |
| 19 | Lewis | 25-3 | 182 | 15 | 19 | IUP | 23-3 | 112 | 12 | |
| 20 | Colorado Mesa | 23-3 | 163 | 21 | 20 | West Florida | 23-4 | 73 | 17 | |
| 21 | California (Pa.) | 23-4 | 113 | 17 | 21 | Central Missouri | 22-5 | 72 | 23 | |
| 22 | Angelo State | 21-4 | 101 | 22 | 22 | North Georgia | 24-4 | 71 | 22 | |
| 23 | Azusa Pacific | 24-4 | 85 | 23 | 23 | Jefferson | 26-2 | 52 | NR | |
| 24 | Central Missouri | 22-5 | 60 | 24 | 24 | California | 23-4 | 47 | 16 | |
| 25 | Lubbock Christian | 23-5 | 40 | 25 | 25 | Lubbock Christian | 23-5 | 30 | RV | |