Kearney, Neb. – The Nebraska-Kearney women’s basketball team is ranked 14th and 28th in the latest NCAA Division II Top 25 polls. UNK (17-3) has been as high as fourth in the D2 Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) rankings while this is the fourth edition of the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) poll. A panel of SID’s and head coaches from around the country vote on the makeup of each poll. In the WBCA poll the Lopers are 14th with 221 points to be behind Central Region members Fort Hays State (No. 5) and Minnesota-Duluth (No. 9). Also represented from the Central is Central Missouri (No. 15) with Emporia State the leaders among others receiving votes. The top four teams this week are Lubbock Christian (Texas), Lander (S.C.), Drury (Mo.), and Hawaii Pacific. The top five in the D2SIDA Top 25 are LCU, Hawaii Pacific, Lander, Drury and Charleston (W.V.).
UNK fell 14 spots to 28th (23 points) with Hays (No. 7), Duluth (No. 11) and UCM (No. 15) representing the Central. For NCAA Tournament purposes this year the Central Region consists of just the MIAA and Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). The Great American Conference (GAC), due to the on-going pandemic, was moved to the South Central Region to balance numbers out. The Lopers are at Northwest Missouri State (7-12) and Missouri Western State (6-13) this weekend to finish up the regular season. The eight-team MIAA Tournament starts next Wednesday (March 3) with the top four seeds hosting first round games.
