HONOLULU – Hawai'i Pacific University women's basketball team closed regular season play and entered the NCAA Division II Tournament nationally ranked second in one poll and fourth in the other in the last Division II women's basketball polls until after the championship.
The 13-0 Sharks remained at their highest ranking in history, retaining second in the weekly Division II Sports Information Directors' poll.
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association weekly poll, HPU stayed fourth as the Sharks rolled their winning streak to 38 games.
However, HPU was tagged as the number five seed in the NCAA Division II West Region, despite being one of only two undefeated Division II teams in the nation and holding the longest winning streak.
Lubbock Christian (Texas) (16-0) is the unanimous number one team nationally, recording all 23 first place votes in the WBCA poll and all 16 top spot nods in the D2SIDA poll.
HPU is second in the D2SIDA poll, with Drury (Mo.) (20-1) moving up to third, North Georgia (17-1) leaps to fourth and Michigan Tech (20-1) fifth.
The second five in the D2SIDA poll are Charleston (W.Va.) (17-2) up to sixth, Lander (S.C.) (17-1) down to seventh, Fort Hays State (Kan.) (21-3) down to eighth, Nebraska-Kearney (22-2) leap frogs to ninth and Gannon (Pa.) (13-1) is 10th.
In the WBCA poll, Drury moved to second and North Georgia climbed over HPU into third, before the Sharks at four and Lander dropped to fifth.
The second five in the WBCA poll are Michigan Tech sixth, Minnesota Duluth (13-1) seventh, Charleston (W.Va.) eighth, Nebraska Kearney ninth and Fort Hays State 10th.
The top seed in the West Regional, Colorado School of Mines (17-3) is 11th in the D2SIDA poll and 22nd in the WBCA poll.
The only other team in the regional that holds a national ranking is HPU's Friday opponent, PacWest foe Azusa Pacific (10-4), who holds a No. 23 ranking in the D2SIDA poll.
The Sharks open play on Friday in the Division II Women's West Regional at Brownson Arena in Grand Junction, Colo. By facing Azusa Pacific in quarterfinal play at 2 p.m. HST (5 p.m. MST). The winner of that game meets Colorado Mines on Saturday in semifinal action at 2 p.m. HST (5 p.m. MST). The region championship game is Monday at 2 p.m. HST (6 p.m. MDT).
+++ HPU +++
WBCA DIVISION II POLL
Released March 8, 2021
| Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1 |
Lubbock Christian (23) |
16-0 |
575 |
1 |
| 2 |
Drury |
20-1 |
547 |
3 |
| 3 |
North Georgia |
17-1 |
502 |
6 |
| 4 |
Hawai'i Pacific |
13-0 |
469 |
4 |
| 5 |
Lander |
17-1 |
468 |
2 |
| 6 |
Michigan Tech |
20-1 |
447 |
9 |
| 7 |
Minnesota Duluth |
13-1 |
444 |
8 |
| 8 |
Charleston (W.Va.) |
17-2 |
383 |
13 |
| 9 |
Nebraska Kearney |
22-3 |
377 |
14 |
| 10 |
Fort Hays State |
22-3 |
374 |
5 |
| 11 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
13-3 |
336 |
10 |
| 12 |
Valdosta State |
17-3 |
292 |
7 |
| 13 |
Belmont Abbey |
22-2 |
266 |
21 |
| 14 |
Carson-Newman |
15-3 |
241 |
11 |
| 15 |
Daemen |
12-2 |
202 |
12 |
| 16 |
Tuskegee |
12-1 |
185 |
19 |
| 17 |
Gannon |
13-1 |
176 |
20 |
| 18 |
Glenville State |
12-3 |
172 |
18 |
| 19 |
Southwestern Oklahoma State |
17-3 |
160 |
16 |
| 20 |
Central Missouri |
19-4 |
155 |
15 |
| 21 |
Arkansas Tech |
14-2 |
148 |
17 |
| 22 |
Colorado Mines |
17-3 |
134 |
24 |
| 23 |
Tusculum |
18-3 |
95 |
NR |
| 24 |
Benedict |
12-3 |
81 |
25 |
| 25 |
Union (Tenn.) |
18-5 |
48 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: West Texas A&M 45; Grand Valley State 30; Truman State 30; Barton 24; Dominican, N.Y. 18; Roberts Wesleyan 15; Cedarville 6; Emporia State 5. Four teams mentioned on only one ballot for a total of 24 combined points.
D2SIDA POLL
Released March 9, 2021
| Rank |
School (First Place Votes) |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1 |
Lubbock Christian (16) |
18-0 |
400 |
1 |
| 2 |
Hawai'i Pacific |
13-0 |
380 |
2 |
| 3 |
Drury |
20-1 |
367 |
4 |
| 4 |
North Georgia |
17-1 |
351 |
7 |
| 5 |
Michigan Tech |
20-1 |
322 |
8 |
| 6 |
Charleston (W.Va.) |
17-2 |
305 |
10 |
| 7 |
Lander |
17-1 |
300 |
3 |
| 8 |
Fort Hays State |
21-3 |
297 |
5 |
| 9 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
22-2 |
240 |
RV |
| 10 |
Gannon |
13-1 |
228 |
12 |
| 11 |
Colorado School of Mines |
16-3 |
220 |
14 |
| 12 |
Dominican (N.Y.) |
12-1 |
215 |
RV |
| 13 |
Minnesota-Duluth |
13-1 |
191 |
11 |
| 14 |
Belmont Abbey |
22-2 |
188 |
16 |
| 15 |
Union (Tenn.) |
18-5 |
187 |
RV |
| 16 |
Daemen |
12-2 |
146 |
9 |
| 17 |
Valdosta State |
17-3 |
144 |
6 |
| 18 |
Glenville State |
12-3 |
120 |
15 |
| 19 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
13-3 |
115 |
20 |
| 20 |
Truman State |
16-4 |
100 |
19 |
| 21 |
Barton |
12-2 |
82 |
21 |
| 22 |
Central Missouri |
19-4 |
79 |
13 |
| 23 |
Azusa Pacific |
10-4 |
72 |
23 |
| 24 |
Georgian Court |
8-1 |
44 |
17 |
| 25 |
Lee |
15-7 |
25 |
RV |
Others receiving votes: Tusculum 19, Arkansas Tech 16, Western Colorado 11, American International 10, Notre Dame (Ohio) 10, Carson-Newman 3, Grand Valley State 3.
