Women’s Basketball Classification: South Carolina is back to the top position in Power 10

Women’s Basketball Classification: South Carolina is back to the top position in Power 10

by

Two big surprises in the top four brought back a familiar face in first place. In addition, a shift in Pac-12 causes some movement at the bottom of my classification.

Here are my Power 10 ratings for Week 12 of women’s college basketball (last week’s rating in parentheses)

1. SOUTH CAROLINA (2) – Welcome back to the top of Gamecocks! South Carolina extended its program record with 26 consecutive SEC wins in the regular season, surpassing Auburn by 77-58. Zia Cooke and Aaliyah Boston added 31 points to defeat the Tigers.

2. LOUISVILLE (1) – NC State No. 4 gave the Cardinals their first loss of the season, 74-60 – a minimum score for the Cardinals. Louisville (18-1) ended the 11th week by overtaking Boston College, 97-68, and surviving Notre Dame, 71-65.

3. UCONN (3) – UConn remains untouched in the Big East after winning St. John’s and Marquette. The confrontation with Marquette marked the second consecutive game of the owner Paige Bueckers with at least 30 points. Bueckers’ performance earned him the Big East Player of the Week and Freshman of the Week honors. She is the second Husky to win both awards in the same week.

4. NC STATE (4) – Wolfpack defeated team # 1 for the second time this season, defeating Louisville, 74-60, on February 1. protocols. Cunane finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Wolfpack came in fourth after North Carolina defeated NC State 76-69 on Sunday. UNC dropped 11 three’s, the best of the season.

5. BAYLOR (5) – Bears advanced to 9-1 in the Big 12 game with wins over Kansas and Kansas City, keeping both opponents with no more than 50 points.

PREDICTIONS: The 2021 NCAA women’s basketball brace, expected shortly after mid-season

6. TEXAS A&M (6) – The Aggies won in a rematch against LSU, which gave Texas A&M their first loss earlier this season. Texas A&M ended Week 11 by winning its seventh victory against a ranked opponent who defeated then n. 16 Arkansas, 69-67. It was A&M’s Jordan Nixon, who came out of a high screen to attack the basket, finding a hole in four Razorbacks to put the dagger in the game.

7. MARYLAND (7) – Terps handled Wisconsin in a bursting victory, 84-48. Katie Benzan led Maryland with 18 points and five assists.

8. STANFORD (9) – Cardinal continued his streak of six consecutive victories against Colorado – which gave Cardinal his first loss of the season – and Utah. This was Stanford’s first 17-2 win of the season at the Maples Pavilion, after staying away from his court for more than two months because of state COVID protocols.

9. UCLA (8) – The Bruins fell to Washington State, 67-63, in the last minute of the Pac-12 clash. A 0.42 second Charlisse Leger-Walker dagger from Washington State gave the Bruins their third loss at the conference. 11-3 UCLA recovered on Sunday, passing through Washington, 84-50.

Michaela Onyenwere of UCLA

10. ARIZONA (10) – The Wildcats have not been in action since January 22, but will resume play on Monday, February 8, against Oregon. Later this week, Arizona will face opponents of Pac-12, Washington State and Washington.

Source