The first week of NCAA women's basketball is over, and the AP Top 25 teams finally have game footage to back up their rankings. See the full ranking below. We break down the biggest headlines from the first week of play.
Associated Press' Week 1 Women's College Basketball Rankings Top 25:
- south carolina
- university university
- University of Southern California
- texas
- University of California Los Angeles
- notre dame cathedral
- LSU
- iowa
- oklahoma
- Kansas
- maryland
- ohio
- north carolina
- north carolina
- west virginia
- duke
- baylor
- Louisville
- Ole Miss
- kentucky
- nebraska
- Alabama
- illinois
- stanford
- Oregon
Other people to vote for:
Iowa 60, TCU 55, Florida St. 42, Michigan 36, Utah 32, Michigan St. 18, Vanderbilt 13, Fairfield 11, South Dakota St. 9, Mississippi St. 7, Arizona 6, Creighton 5, Tennessee 3, Harvard 3, Indiana 3. , Middle Tennessee 3, Miami 2.
B1G Upset
The current 18-team Big Ten Conference has produced surprisingly close games with teams pulling off upsets. It started on the opening night of the season. michigan wolverines They faced the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks. Michigan entered the season without a top-25 vote, but it remained close until the final whistle against the Gamecocks, who won the national championship with a 38-0 record.
Wolverines freshman guard Saira Sword The University of Michigan led the University of South Carolina at halftime, scoring 27 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. The Siamcocks pulled away late to win 68-62, but Michigan showed that with Swords the Wolverines can surprise teams. Voters gave the Wolverines 36 points in the poll, putting them in contention for a spot in the coming weeks.
South Carolina fought back in the second game, playing one of four games between ranked teams in Week 1, defeating No. 9 South Carolina. north carolina state wolfpack 71-57.
On Friday night, the Big Ten had upsets on both sides. No. 25 indiana hoosiers They welcomed the Harvard Crimson to their assembly hall, but were shocked by the Ivy League school, 72-68. With this loss, the Hoosiers fell out of the top 25.
In neighboring Illinois, the Fighting Illini pulled off an upset, defeating No. 19. florida 83-74 with a 20-point performance from Illinois guard Makira Cook. The win moved Illinois to No. 23 as a team polled by Associated Press voters, marking the first time since the 2000-01 season that a Big Ten side has been ranked in three consecutive seasons.
In the AP Top 25, the top four teams in the rankings fell to unranked teams. Oregon State was the last team to pull off an early upset, beating the No. 12 team. baylor bears In Eugene. The Ducks added former UNC guard Dejah Kelly in the offseason, and the three-time All-ACC first team star led Oregon State to a victory with 20 points, nine rebounds and five assists, missing out on a spot in the NCAA Tournament. He tried to bring the Ducks back to fame. 2 consecutive seasons.
Voters rewarded the Ducks for the upset win and a 3-0 record to start the season in 25th place. Stanford, another former Pac-12 team, also snuck into the rankings after being snubbed before the season, joining the top 25 of underdog teams. Participated as the 24th seed.
ranked match
Outside of South Carolina, north carolina The week's other three games pitted the top 25 teams in the preseason poll.
On Monday, the top four teams started the season in Paris, France. In the first of two games in Europe, the No. 3 USC Trojans took all 40 minutes to defeat No. 20 Ole Miss.
The new star duo of JuJu Watkins and Kiki Iliafen both recorded double-doubles in the win. Watkins, the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year, had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Iliafen, a transfer from Stanford University, had 22 points and 13 rebounds, the two most important points of the game. Iliafen got a trip to the line and made two free throws, giving USC a 68-66 victory.
Despite hints of a dangerous duo at USC, Ole Miss' defense has proven to be more difficult for the Trojans, who are adjusting with new players from the transfer portal and freshman class.
No. 5 UCLA followed USC's lead and gave the Big Ten its fourth win over a ranked team this week, defeating No. 17 UCLA. Louisville Cardinals Also in Paris, 1966-59.
On Sunday, there was a reunion of the former ACC sides in College Park, Maryland. 18th place for the first time in 10 years maryland terrapin played against number 11 duke blue devils.
Maryland head coach Brenda Frese brought in four key transfers in the offseason, but she didn't need much help adjusting. former villanova Forward Christina Dulce had 12 points and 14 rebounds, seven of which came on offensive boards. Kaylen Smikle transferred to conference. rutgers to Maryland, In a wire-to-wire victory over the Blue Devils, the Terps scored 23 points.
Freshman debut
Swords wasn't the only notable freshman to make a mark in his first NCAA game. Rookie Sarah Strong, ranked 1st overall, makes her debut starting 2nd. university university The Huskies scored 17 points along with teammate Paige Bueckers. Strong scored 30 points in two games against unranked mid-major teams.
The No. 2-ranked freshman guard only played in one game in Week 1, and that was as No. 14. ohio Fans won't soon forget it. Point guard Gialoni Cambridge breaks school record for most points in freshman debut.had 31 points on 12-of-14 shooting, six rebounds, six assists, and five steals. That was in the 26th minute against the reigning Horizon League regular season champion Cleveland State Vikings.
South Carolina's Joyce Edwards came off the bench in the win over the Wolverines, but started for head coach Dawn Staley against North Carolina State. In Edwards' first start, the freshman had eight points and four steals against the Wolfpack.
Additionally, in Los Angeles, Kennedy Smith slipped into the Trojans' starting lineup and played alongside his high school opponent Watkins, scoring 22 points in two starts.
No. 6 notre dame fighting irish It has its own freshman star in Kate Koval. Swords' former high school teammate said Notre Dame's lopsided win over Mercyhurst and purdue boiler maker. In Koval's debut against Mercyhurst, the forward had 18 points, seven rebounds and five blocks, but most Irish fans were talking about another player.
Olivia Miles' big return
In Notre Dame's final game of the 22-23 regular season, star guard Olivia Miles tore her ACL. This injury ended not only that season, but the entire 23-24 season.
On Monday, Miles returned and picked up where he left off. Miles played in the first game alongside AP All-American First Team point guard Hannah Hidalgo, who recorded her fourth triple-double of her NCAA career.
Miles had 20 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 32 minutes for the Fighting Irish, making Notre Dame look like a team likely to stay near the top of the rankings. Their first test will be Nov. 23, when the Irish travel to USC. This is the first of three games against top 10 teams before the conference season begins. The Irish play with the UConn Huskies at No. 4 texas longhorns December will start in 7 days.
Along with Miles and Hidalgo, the Fighting Irish are aiming to return to the Final Four for the first time since 2019. Over the past five seasons, Notre Dame has appeared in the NCAA Tournament three times, but lost in the Sweet Sixteen all three years.
