Women’s Basketball AP Poll, Insights: South Carolina bets on Texas, ACC brings the drama and more

Women’s Basketball AP Poll, Insights: South Carolina bets on Texas, ACC brings the drama and more

Three top 10 teams suffered defeats, two top 25 teams were defeated in their week of play, and six unranked teams earned victories over ranked opponents.

Most of the action took place in the ACC, although the Big Ten came in close behind. Here’s what happened in women’s college basketball this week.

Eyebrows were raised Thursday night when Virginia Tech took ranked Georgia Tech to two overtimes at the same time the Tobacco Road Rivalry went into its own overtime. Cal picked up another crucial win by knocking off NC State that same night to remind people that Stanford isn’t the only talented team in the region joining a new conference due to realignment.

The Hokies (12-4, 3-2) ripped through Georgia Tech’s defense 105-94 on the road to pick up their first Quad 1 win of head coach Megan Duffy’s tenure. It was the first loss of the season for the Yellow Jackets (15-2, 3-2), one of two ranked teams defeated this week after Louisville defeated them 69-60 on Sunday. (Iowa also lost to Illinois and Indiana.) Georgia Tech could well be coming off three straight losses when they face Notre Dame (14-2, 5-0) on Thursday. Player of the Year candidate Hannah Hidalgo missed Sunday’s win at Clemson with an ankle injury. It was the first break of the second semester.

North Carolina (15-3, 3-2) made 10 of 14 free throws in OT and won another offensively challenged, turnover-heavy battle against its rivals 53-46. Duke head coach Kara Lawson’s statement that it “wasn’t really a fun watch, probably not for everyone” is an understatement of the first two weeks of the calendar year.

The Blue Devils (13-4, 4-1) blew a 16-point lead and faltered again later in the week, edging Virginia 60-55 on the road. Their offense has slumped in the last two games – two of their worst, in addition to a 65-56 loss to South Florida in December. Overall it was 40 of 134 (29.8%), including 10 of 41 from 3 (24%). The only bright spot was their ability to get into the game against Virginia. Duke relies on its defense more often than it should if it wants to compete for a spot in the Final Four.

The win of the week is further down the table. Pittsburgh, one of the basement programs that often send transfers to the top of the league, rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat SMU 72-59 on Sunday. It was the greatest comeback in NCAA women’s basketball history. And it was the first ACC win of the season for the Panthers (9-9, 1-4).

Texas guard Rori Harmon (center) fights for the ball against South Carolina guards Raven Johnson (left) and MiLaysia Fulwiley during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Columbia, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)Texas guard Rori Harmon (center) fights for the ball against South Carolina guards Raven Johnson (left) and MiLaysia Fulwiley during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Columbia, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

Texas guard Rori Harmon (center) fights for the ball against South Carolina guards Raven Johnson (left) and MiLaysia Fulwiley during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Columbia, S.C., Sunday, Jan. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)

The Gamecocks slammed a loud door in the Longhorns’ faces on Sunday, showing everyone that the SEC is still their conference and not even an elite freshman will have it easy.

The defense held Texas to 15 points below its previous season low in a 67-50 home win on Sunday. The Longhorns scored nine points in the first game and barely reached double figures in points in the next two quarters (13 and 12 points, respectively).

Much of the credit goes to senior forward Bree Hall, who shut down All-American forward Madison Booker. She neared her season low with seven points (half her 14.8 ppg average) on 3 of 19 field goals (48% season average). Hall, the Gamecocks’ steady presence, said she spent the night before watching YouTube videos of Booker to study the star’s tendencies. Overall, they had one of their best games on defense, she said.

South Carolina (16-1, 5-0) entered the top-five matchup differently than intended after Ashlyn Watkins suffered a season-ending ACL tear a week earlier. At one point, the Gamecocks easily took care of Texas A&M, but the Longhorns posed bigger problems. Senior forward Sania Feagin, who is averaging 17 minutes per game on the stacked roster, played a season-high 31 minutes.

“Statistically, she played a pretty good game, but it’s also all the other things, the intangibles,” head coach Dawn Staley said. “She always kept her feet above the big guys. She was out there communicating and directing. When you have someone who has sat as long as he has sat and plays as well as he has played, that’s it. That’s what (we) have been trying to get from Feagin for three years.”

Staley said the team had to find its way in the early going and will have to do so again after losing Watkins. The league’s schedule will tell them who they are, she said. They look dominant as always.

Will there be back-to-back Ivy NCAA Tournaments with two bids? Or could it even be a Three-Bid Ivy?

Princeton, Harvard and Columbia each received preseason Ivy League votes to win the conference and are projected in or near the top of the NCAA field in ESPN’s latest bracketology. The race for the conference title is already shaping up well. Sophomore point guard Ashley Chea hit a long jump shot to help Princeton beat Harvard 52-50 at home on Saturday in their first of two regular-season meetings. They will meet again on February 28th in Massachusetts.

Princeton (11-4, 2-0) is the Ivy juggernaut. The buzzer-beater was only the show’s second in 22 years; Not since 2009-10 have they needed theatrics often to go 93-9 in their home gym. The Tigers have held a share of the regular season title for six straight years. They were picked first in the preseason poll with 10 of 16 votes after losing three starters (Defensive Player of the Year Ellie Mitchell and former Player of the Year Kaitlyn Chen, who transferred to UConn). Madison St. Rose suffered a torn ACL in November and is out this year.

Harvard (12-2, 1-1) is the active mid-major favorite with a standout star, senior Harmoni Turner, who ranks in the top 20 in scoring and fourth in steals. The Crimson are ranked in the top 40 in NET standings, best in the Ivy with the group’s only Quad 1 win.

And Columbia (11-4, 2-0) is fresh off its first NCAA Tournament bid, marking the first time since 2016 that two Ivy League schools have been selected for the tournament. The Lions tied Princeton for the regular season title. They host Princeton on Monday, January 20th and travel to New Jersey on February 22nd. They play at Massachusetts on January 31st and at home against Harvard on February 16th.

Utah (13-3, 4-1 Big 12) at TCU (17-1, 5-0), Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN+) – The Utes’ Big 12 season reaches a new level with a road trip to Baylor (Tuesday) and TCU. The Horned Frogs’ only loss comes against South Carolina.

1.UCLA
2.South Carolina
3. Notre Dame
4. U.S.C
5.LSU
6. UConn
7.Texas
8. Maryland
9. Ohio State
10. TCU
11. Kansas State
12.Kentucky
13.Oklahoma
14. North Carolina
15.Tennessee
16th Duke
17.Georgia Tech
18th cal
19.Alabama
20. West Virginia
21. NC State
22. Michigan State
23.Utah
24. Minnesota
25. Oklahoma State

1. Notre Dame
2.UCLA
3.South Carolina
4. U.S.C
5. Maryland
6.Texas
7. UConn
8.LSU
9. Kansas State
10.Oklahoma
11. Ohio State
12. TCU
13.Kentucky
14. Tennessee
15. North Carolina
16th Duke
17.Georgia Tech
18.Alabama
19. Michigan State
20. West Virginia
21. California
22.Utah
23.Michigan
24. NC State
25. Oklahoma State

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *