South Carolina Dominates Women’s AP Top 25 Rankings
(AP) – South Carolina remains on top of the women’s college basketball world, retaining its status as the unanimous No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll after starting the season with two wins. The Gamecocks kicked off their campaign for another national championship with a tough victory over Michigan, followed by a solid win against No. 9 NC State.
The Gamecocks defeated Michigan by six points and then took down NC State by 14 points over the weekend. These performances secured them the top spot from all 31 members of the media voting panel. In the preseason poll, UConn was ranked second with two first-place votes, while USC took third place with one vote.
The top eight teams in the poll stayed the same. Texas and UCLA rounded out the top five, followed by Notre Dame, LSU, Iowa State, Oklahoma, and Kansas State, which made it into the top 10. Notably, NC State slipped to the 13th position.
Stanford and Oregon, two former Pac-12 teams, made their way back into the rankings this week. The No. 24 Stanford Cardinal, under new head coach Kate Paye, went 3-0 last week, winning each game by an impressive average of 41 points. This marked a return to the rankings for them after missing out in the preseason for the first time since 2000.
Oregon entered the rankings at No. 25 after securing a close two-point victory against No. 12 Baylor, ending a frustrating 13-game losing streak against ranked teams. Following their loss, Baylor dropped to the 17th spot in the poll.
In a strong showing, Maryland moved up seven spots to No. 11 after defeating then-No. 11 Duke 85-80. This victory marked the Terrapins’ first meeting with the Blue Devils since knocking them out in the Sweet 16 back in 2015, and it highlighted a return to form after their streak of being ranked ended last season. Duke fell to No. 16.
Several teams fell out of the rankings this week: Creighton, Indiana, and Florida State all experienced early setbacks, losing to lower-ranked opponents. Meanwhile, Illinois entered the poll at No. 23.
On an individual note, UConn coach Geno Auriemma is close to making history, currently just one victory away from tying retired coach Tara VanDerveer for the most wins in women’s college basketball history at 1,216. Auriemma has the opportunity to equal the record when the Huskies face No. 15 North Carolina on Friday, with a potential record-breaking opportunity at home against Fairleigh Dickinson on November 20.
Looking ahead, an exciting matchup is on the horizon as No. 16 Duke travels to South Dakota State this Sunday. Coach Kara Lawson is putting her team to the test with a challenging early-season schedule that features three road games within the first four matches.
