South Carolina is now the only undefeated team in women's college basketball, and thus the Gamecocks remain at the top of the AP Top 25 poll. The Iowa Hawkeyes have taken the No. 2 spot in the latest poll after UCLA fell to crosstown rival USC.
Iowa was a little shaky against Michigan State earlier this month, but this past week the Hawkeyes had two dominant wins, including an 84-57 victory over then-No. 14 Indiana. Iowa star Caitlin Clark recorded 30 points and 11 assists against the Hoosiers, her ninth 30-point game of the season and the 46th of her career -- the most in Iowa women's basketball history.
Colorado checked in at No. 3 after a 71-59 win against No. 8 Stanford. NC State has beaten ranked Florida State and Virginia Tech this month, and the Wolfpack kept that momentum with a 93-66 win against Virginia to take the No. 4 spot this week.
UCLA moved down just three places to No. 5 after losing Round 2 of the Battle for Los Angeles, while USC climbed three spots to No. 6. Sunday was a revenge game for the Trojans, whose only loss came at the hands of the Bruins in December. USC won at the Galen Center despite forward/center Rayah Marshall being a late-game scratch due to an illness. UCLA's Lauren Betts, who was battling an unspecified illness of her own, did not start the game and played limited minutes. One player who made her presence known was USC freshman star JuJu Watkins, who led her team with 32 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and three steals. That was her sixth 30-point performance of the season.
Florida State also had a solid week with back-to-back wins against ranked opponents North Carolina and Virginia Tech. The Seminoles moved up to No. 15 in this week's poll. Meanwhile, Baylor had the biggest drop this week, going down eight spots after an 87-66 loss to Kansas and a 66-63 loss to Iowa State.
AP Women's Basketball Top 25
The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' women's college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sunday, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last week's ranking:
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina | 15-0 | 900 | 1 |
| 2 | Iowa | 17-1 | 843 | 3 |
| 3 | Colorado | 15-1 | 814 | 5 |
| 4 | NC State | 15-1 | 777 | 6 |
| 5 | UCLA | 14-1 | 750 | 2 |
| 6 | USC | 13-1 | 744 | 9 |
| 7 | Kansas State | 17-1 | 692 | 12 |
| 8 | Stanford | 15-2 | 608 | 8 |
| 9 | UConn | 14-3 | 597 | 13 |
| 10 | LSU | 16-2 | 537 | 7 |
| 11 | Texas | 16-2 | 515 | 10 |
| 12 | Baylor | 14-2 | 492 | 4 |
| 13 | Louisville | 15-2 | 460 | 15 |
| 14 | Virginia Tech | 13-3 | 419 | 11 |
| 15 | Florida State | 14-4 | 365 | 21 |
| 16 | Indiana | 14-2 | 351 | 14 |
| 17 | Gonzaga | 16-2 | 345 | 16 |
| 18 | Ohio State | 13-3 | 336 | 17 |
| 19 | Notre Dame | 12-3 | 301 | 18 |
| 20 | Utah | 12-5 | 187 | 19 |
| 21 | Creighton | 13-3 | 144 | 22 |
| 22 | Marquette | 15-2 | 129 | 23 |
| 23 | North Carolina | 12-5 | 106 | 20 |
| 24 | Iowa State | 12-4 | 80 | NR |
| 25 | UNLV | 14-1 | 69 | 25 |
Others receiving votes: Oregon St. 59, West Virginia 29, Syracuse 25, Vanderbilt 8, Princeton 7, Auburn 5, Fairfield 4, Michigan St. 2.
