Fort Hays State Women's Basketball elevated to No. 4 in both the WBCA and D2SIDA Top 25 Polls released on Tuesday (Mar. 8). The Tigers moved up one spot in the WBCA poll and two spots in the D2SIDA Poll. FHSU is 28-3 overall on the season and holds the No. 1 seed in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament.
Fort Hays State began the year as the No. 4 ranked team in the WBCA Top 25 Poll and will enter the postseason with that ranking as well. FHSU played six games this season with a No. 4 WBCA ranking and won all six. The Tigers have been inside the Top 10 of the WBCA poll the entire season, and for a while held the No. 1 ranking for a couple weeks that spanned late November and early December.
The Tigers are 16-1 all-time when ranked No. 4 in the WBCA poll and 139-34 overall when playing as a ranked team during the DII era.
Union (Tenn.) will enter the NCAA Tournament as the nation's top ranked team, followed by Ashland (Ohio), Glenville State (W.Va.), and Fort Hays State. All four are No. 1 seeds in their respective regions of the NCAA Tournament.
Fort Hays State remains the lone MIAA program in both top 25 polls, while Missouri Southern is the top receiving votes team in the WBCA poll and ranked No. 23 in the D2SIDA poll. Three other schools participating in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament hold a top 25 ranking in the WBCA poll, which includes No. 10 Southwestern Oklahoma State, No. 12 Minnesota Duluth, and No. 16 St. Cloud State. All eight teams participating in the regional have 21 or more wins.
Fort Hays State will play Minnesota State (21-6) in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday at 5 pm. The winner of that contest will move on to meet either Missouri Southern or No. 16 St. Cloud State in the regional semifinals on Saturday. FHSU is 1-1 against Missouri Southern and 1-0 against St. Cloud State this season.
Below are the final regular season polls for the 2021-22 season.
WBCA Top 25 Poll - March 8, 2022
1. Union 26-2
2. Ashland 28-2
3. Glenville State 29-1
4. Fort Hays State 28-3
5. Drury 31-4
6. Grand Valley State 27-2
7. North Georgia 25-3
8. Barton 27-2
9. Azusa Pacific 24-3
10. Southwestern Oklahoma St. 29-4
11. Lander 22-4
12. Minnesota Duluth 24-4
13. Texas A&M-Commerce 26-4
14. Tampa 29-5
15. Cal State East Bay 22-2
16. St. Cloud State 23-4
17. Savannah State 27-2
18. Walsh 26-4
19. Lubbock Christian 26-6
20. Cal State San Marcos 22-3
21. Eckerd 20-4
22. Colorado School of Mines 25-4
23. West Texas A&M 23-10
24. Valdosta State 23-5
25. Western Washington 20-5
Receiving Votes: Missouri Southern State (24-6) 39; University of the Sciences (23-4) 38; Southern New Hampshire (21-6) 34; Lee, TN (24-7) 22; Central Washington (23-7) 20; Benedict (23-7) 19; Carson-Newman (26-5) 16; Daemen (20-4) 16; Southern Indiana (23-5) 16; Florida Southern (20-9) 15; Lincoln, PA (22-7) 15; Missouri-St. Louis (23-5) 15; Catawba (23-6) 10; Wingate (24-5) 6; California, PA (24-5) 4; Gannon (24-6) 4.
D2SIDA Top 25 Poll - March 8, 2022
1. Union (Tenn.) (7) 26-2
2. Ashland (6) 28-2
3. Glenville State (1) 29-1
4. Fort Hays State 28-3
5. North Georgia 25-3
6. Grand Valley State 27-2
7. Texas A&M-Commerce (2) 26-4
8. Barton 28-1
9. Lubbock Christian 26-6
T10. Cal State-East Bay 22-2
T10. Drury 31-4
12. Minnesota-Duluth 24-4
13. Tampa 29-5
14. Lander 22-4
15. Walsh 26-5
16. Central Washington 23-7
17. Southwestern Oklahoma St. 29-4
18. Southern New Hampshire 21-6
19. West Texas A&M 23-10
20. Gannon 24-6
21. Cal State-San Marcos 22-3
22. Carson-Newman 26-5
23. Missouri Southern 24-6
24. Western Washington 20-5
25. Southern Indiana 23-5
Receiving Votes: Bentley 34, California (Pa.) 33, St. Cloud State 29, Florida Southern 19, Azusa Pacific 14, Wingate 11, Texas Woman's 10, Metropolitan State 8, Kutztown 8, Lee 6, University of the Sciences 6, Lincoln (Pa.) 4, Colorado State-Pueblo 3, Le Moyne 3, Missouri-St. Louis 3, Valdosta State 1