Welcome back! Our first post-holiday break women’s basketball poll is a wild one, thanks to a slew of upsets this week. Seven days ago there were 12 undefeated teams. Today there are just four: Texas Tech, Vanderbilt, UConn and Texas.
Sunday alone saw five top-25 teams lose to lower-ranked or unranked opponents. This may be the most my ballot has shifted all season, but here is how I voted for this week’s AP Poll (with previous rankings in parentheses).
3. South Carolina (3)
Dropped out: USC (16), Notre Dame (23)
Almost famous: Illinois, Duke, Villanova, Georgia, NC State, West Virginia, Fairfield, Rhode Island
Notes on the votes:
Kentucky: After beating Louisville in November and upsetting LSU on Thursday, Kentucky earned itself a spot among the country’s elite. The Wildcats have all the pieces for a deep tournament run, with an elite point guard in 5-foot-9 senior Tonie Morgan and a talented post duo in 6-foot-5 senior Teonni Key and 6-foot-5 junior Clara Strack.
Against LSU it was Morgan and Key who made things happen. Morgan, a transfer from Georgia Tech, finished with 24 points and 12 assists on the game, including the game-winning three-pointer, while Key dominated the glass with 17 points and 16 rebounds. Three starters finished in double figures, while 5-foot-8 junior guard Asia Boone provided a lift off the bench with 18 points on 5 of 13 shooting from beyond the arc. With that kind of balance, Kentucky should be a force in the SEC.
Note: Key suffered an arm injury against Missouri on Sunday, which could impact Kentucky going forward.
Vanderbilt: There is cause for celebration in Nashville. Vanderbilt’s 65-61 victory over LSU marks the team’s first win over a top-five opponent since 2009. Sophomore guard and reigning Freshman of the Year Mikayla Blakes was incredible, leading all scorers with 32 points and further solidifying herself as one of the best players in the country. She got an assist (no pun intended) from her freshman point guard Aubrey Galavan, who knocked down four three-pointers and finished with 14 points.
Maryland: Injuries are finally starting to catch up with the Terrapins, as they dropped their first game of the season, a 73-70 loss to Illinois. Four rotation players have endured season-ending injuries, including 6-foot senior guard Kaylene Smikle, the team’s best scorer. Things aren’t going to get easier, either. The Big Ten is deep and Maryalnd has an upcoming stretch of games against four top-25 teams starting on Jan. 11: Ohio State, USC, UCLA and Iowa.
TCU: The Horned Frogs haven’t been tested since their Nov. 16 win over then-No. 10 NC State. And frankly, Utah, a team that currently sits on the bubble, shouldn’t have been a test, either. But TCU struggled shooting, making 37 percent of its shots and just 23 percent from beyond the arc. Utah, meanwhile, shot the lights out, making 13 of 23 three-point attempts.
Utah is a notoriously difficult place to play, with elevation a factor, so this may be a fluke for TCU. We will see as the Horned Frogs continue on in Big 12 play.
LSU: The Tigers open SEC play with two losses, which, considering the competition, wouldn’t be a bad thing if it wasn’t the only competition they’ve faced this season. Their win over a Duke team that is rising once again, and the fact that both losses were close, keeps them in the top 25. LSU will need a win over Texas or Oklahoma in the next two weeks to get itself back in the top 10.
Baylor: The Bears earned their way back into the top 25 with an impressive win over Audi Crooks and Iowa State. A few weeks ago, the Kansas Jayhawks lost by just three to Iowa State by going single coverage on Crooks and forcing the rest of the Cyclones to beat them. Crooks finished with 41, but it nearly worked. Baylor modified that strategy, guarding everyone except Jada Williams. Her defender parked in the paint in front of Crooks, doubling the talented big and daring Iowa State’s worst long-range shooter (26 percent) to make shots.
Williams ended up knocking down six three-pointers, but Iowa State turned her into a volume shooter, as Williams, who averages just 3.2 attempts per game, took 17 shots from long range. That’s 17 possessions in which Crooks didn’t get a look.
Baylor’s offense took care of the rest. Senior guard Jana Van Gytenbeek ran the offense to perfection, with 7 assists and just 1 turnover, and Talia Scott led her squad with 21 points, including the game winner.
Washington: Michigan gained a ton of respect – and rightly so – after pushing No. 1 UConn to the brink back in November. Which is why Washington’s 64-52 win over the Wolverines on Thursday was so impressive. Washington was able to limit Michigan to just 33-percent shooting and 21 percent from beyond the arc. Most impressive was how the Wolverines made things difficult for Michigan’s dynamic duo, Oliva Olson and Syla Swords. Olson had 12 points on 5 of 17 shooting, while Swords finished with 15 points on 6 of 19 shooting.
Meanwhile, Avery Howell, a sophomore transfer from USC, has found herself as a Husky. She finished with 22 points and a career-high 16 rebounds to guide her squad. Illinois and Duke: Here are two teams that are knocking on the door of the top 25. If a few teams on the bottom suffered losses, these two would earn a spot. Illinois’ impressive win over Maryland was the perfect way to get on my radar. And Duke, which struggled mightily to start the season, has won six in a row, including an 82-68 victory over Hannah Hidalgo and Notre Dame on Sunday.
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