SIOUX FALLS— The No. 11 University of Sioux Falls Women's Basketball team, led by 12th-year head coach Travis Traphagen, has seen shifts in two major rankings after their weekend road sweep of Concordia-St. Paul and Minnesota State.
The Cougars (9-0, 3-0 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) made their largest move thus far by moving into the NCAA Division II Power 10 Rankings, conducted by Turner Sports' Wayne Cavadi.
In the Power 10, the Cougars made their way into the "Just Missed" section a week ago before moving up to ninth in the latest installment released Monday. Here is what Cavadi wrote of the Cougars.
"It's time to welcome the Cougars to the Power 10 party. Aside from the perfect record, they check off several boxes I look for: Sioux Falls has a signature win against a top-25 Hawaii Pacific team as well as a winning record against a tricky schedule (a .523 opponents winning percentage so far). Senior guard Kaely Hummel is leading the way with 16.4 points per night.
This week: Friday, Dec. 13 vs. Minnesota Duluth; Saturday, Dec. 14 vs. St. Cloud State"
As for the D2SIDA Central Region Poll, the Cougars usurped Fort Hays State of the top spot in the Central, earning all six first-place votes and 60 total points, the most a team can receive in their respective region. In the previous installment of the D2SIDA Regional Poll, the Cougars were the definitive No. 2, earning 52 of 60 possible points.
| CENTRAL |
| Place |
School (First-Place Votes) |
Record |
Pts. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
Sioux Falls (6) |
9-0 |
60 |
2 |
| 2 |
MSU-Moorhead |
8-2 |
54 |
4 |
| 3 |
Southeastern Okla. |
6-1 |
46 |
6 |
| 4 |
Central Okla. |
8-2 |
35 |
9 |
| 5 |
Winona State |
7-0 |
29 |
10 |
| 6 |
Emporia State |
7-2 |
24 |
RV |
| 7 |
Nebraska-Kearney |
7-1 |
23 |
7 |
| 8 |
Fort Hays State |
6-2 |
21 |
1 |
| 9 |
Southwestern Okla. |
7-2 |
16 |
8 |
| 10 |
Arkansas Tech |
6-2 |
9 |
NR |
RV: Southern Arkansas (5), Arkansas-Monticello (3) , Central Missouri (3), Minnesota Duluth (2)
The Cougars have made a gradual jump each week in the D2SIDA Regional Polls, going from sixth in the preseason poll to fifth, fifth to third, third to second, then second to first in subsequent polls.
The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and D2SIDA National Polls will release on Tuesday, which could potentially see the Cougars in the Top 10 for the first time since their final year as a full-member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' (NAIA) Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC), dating to the 2010-11 season.
The 2010-11 season saw the Cougars make it to the GPAC Women's Basketball Tournament Semifinals and the NAIA Women's Basketball Division II National Championship Quarterfinals. In the final poll, the Cougars finished the 2010-11 season as the No. 6 team in the NAIA Division II Poll.
