Women’s Top 25: JuJu Is Back, South Carolina Is No. 1

Notes on the votes: 

– By far the most intriguing result through the first week was the Michigan handling visiting UConn, 77-66. The Wolverines proved they belong in the Final Four conversation thanks to beating the highest ranked opponent in program history in the first top-five meeting at Crisler Center. It also is the second time Wolverines coach Kim Barnes Arico has beaten the 12-time national champions. She also dealt UConn coach Geno Auriemma a loss when she was at St. John’s. 

– Perhaps the next most compelling storyline from opening week was Watkins rejoining USC for a 100-68 win against UNLV in Las Vegas after missing 588 days. The senior guard finished with 21 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals in 25 minutes, although Watkins did miss all five of her three-point attempts. The projected No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft had been out since an ACL tear during the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2025. 

– Texas senior forward Madison Booker is averaging 27 points through two games after dropping 30 during a 91-29 win against overmatched Northern Colorado in Austin. Booker made 10 of 14 field goals to climb to third on the Longhorns’ career scoring list. The two-time All-American also made two three-pointers and logged six assists before leaving early in the fourth quarter with the outcome well in hand. The first high-stakes matchup for the Longhorns doesn’t arrive until Nov. 22 against Ohio State.

– In the most lopsided margin of victory between Division I women’s basketball teams, per ESPN, LSU defeated Texas Southern, 131-22, on Thursday night in Baton Rouge. The Tigers went on a 50-0 run bridging the second and third quarters, marking the largest by any team against a Division I opponent since Coach Kim Mulkey took over at LSU in 2021, also according to ESPN. The previous record for margin of victory was Baylor beating Winthrop, 140-32, on Dec. 15, 2016. Mulkey at the time was coaching the Bears.

– Reigning national champion UCLA coasted to a pair of blowout wins at Pauley Pavilion, including over UC Irvine, 78-42, on Thursday night. The Bruins pitched a shutout in the fourth quarter, and sophomore Sienna Betts scored a career-high 17 points, making 8 of 10 shots. Betts is the younger sister of Lauren Betts, the No. 4 overall pick in the WNBA Draft who helped UCLA win its first national championship in women’s basketball.

– Hannah Hidalgo keeps collecting steals, and Notre Dame keeps accumulating victories. The senior All-American point guard had 27 points and 10 steals in a 123-40 win against Stonehill on Friday night. The Fighting Irish’s point total was the second most in program history and the most under coach Niele Ivey. Hidalgo, the National Defensive Player of the Year and a projected lottery pick in the WNBA Draft, shot 11-of-18 and had six rebounds one game after scoring 32 during a season-opening victory over Villanova, 99-75, in Rome.

– Oklahoma State center Audi Crooks reached double-digit scoring for a 100th consecutive game in a 92-38 victory over visiting Morgan State on Friday night. Crooks had 14 points on 6-of-10 from the field. She’s shooting 75 percent this season. The 6-foot-3 senior transferred to the Cowgirls from Iowa State, where Crooks scored in double digits in 97 of 98 games. The only time Crooks failed to score in double digits was the first game of her career. 

– Clara Strack continued her ascension as one of the most complete post players in the country by scoring a season-high 24 points with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 blocks in Kentucky’s 93-78 win against North Carolina State (No. 25 in the Associate Press poll) on Sunday in Charlotte. The 6-foot-5 senior center made 10 of 15 field goals. Emerging for the Wildcats is Ajsa Sivka, a 6-foot-5 Slovenian-born guard who had 32 points, including 8 of 12 three-pointers.