Ladies’s school basketball rankings: Up to date top-25, Kentucky rises, Geno Auriemma ties Tara VanDerVeer

NCAA ladies’s basketball continued to shock in week two. Prime-25 groups fell to each ranked and unranked opponents, a brand new crew emerges out of Texas and the Buckeyes virtually fall to a mid-major. Listed below are the present rankings and what stood out in week two:

AP prime 25 ladies’s school basketball rankings after week two:

1. South Carolina
2. UConn
3. USC
4. Texas
5. UCLA
6. Notre Dame
7. LSU
8. Iowa State
9. Oklahoma
10. Kansas State
11. Maryland
12. Ohio State
13. West Virginia
14. Duke
15. Kentucky
16. North Carolina
17. Ole Miss
18. Baylor
19. TCU
20. NC State
21. Nebraska
22. Illinois
23. Oregon
24. Alabama
25. Louisville

Others receiving votes: Iowa 88, Michigan 38, Michigan St. 15, Vanderbilt 14, Stanford 9, Florida St. 5, Miami 4, South Dakota St. 3, Tennessee 3, Richmond 2.

UConn makes historical past in North Carolina

The primary ranked sport of week two got here in North Carolina. Enjoying in Greensboro, NC, a part of a impartial web site home-and-home sequence after the 2 sides performed on the Mohegan Solar enviornment in 2023, the No. 2 Huskies began sturdy and didn’t relent on their option to a 69-58 win of their first ranked matchup of the season, over the No. 14 UNC Tar Heels.

Guard Paige Bueckers had 19 first half factors, together with a buzzer-beater on the finish of the primary quarter, adopted by a skip again in the direction of her bench, and went on to attain 29 factors within the win. Plus, a double-double by fellow No. 1 general freshman prospect Sarah Sturdy who had a double-double of 14 factors and 13 rebounds.

Picture by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Photographs

It was a whole win for the Huskies, one among 1,216 wins for legendary head coach Geno Auriemma, celebrating his fortieth season main UConn. The victory ties former Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer for the winningest coach in both males’s or ladies’s school basketball, an honor that VanDerveer achieved final season in her ultimate season teaching NCAA basketball.

Auriemma’s new accolade joins a number of trophy cupboards of different honors for the 11-time Nationwide Championship-winning coach with 30 convention titles and 28 convention match trophies.

Now, Auriemma and the Huskies can safe the document all to themselves Wednesday, when Fairleigh Dickinson College involves Storrs, CT.

UConn’s top-25 matchup is one among doubtlessly 5 earlier than the top of the calendar yr. The Huskies face the Louisville Cardinals, Notre Dame Combating Irish, Iowa State Cyclones and USC Trojans earlier than the calendar flips to 2025.

In that point, the Huskies will get stronger with the return of a 3rd No. 1 general freshman prospect Azzi Fudd, who hasn’t performed since Nov. 12, 2023.

Prime-20 showdown in Bluegrass Nation

For 9 years, the Louisville Cardinals owned the Battle of the Bluegrass. Jeff Walz’ Louisville crew beat two head coaches in almost a decade of rivalry victories, however the Kentucky Wildcats regrouped within the offseason by the best way of a brand new head coach, prime switch and a strong group of underclassmen.

Saturday evening, first yr Wildcats head coach Kenny Brooks’ Kentucky aspect defeated the Cardinals at residence within the ninth sport between the 2 groups when each groups had been ranked within the top-20. The final 4 of the ranked editions went to Louisville, and it took additional time for Kentucky to beat their in-state rivals.

Graduate senior Georgia Amoore, who adopted Brooks to the Wildcats from Virginia Tech, lived as much as her All-American standing, main all scorers with 19 factors and 9 assists however Louisville wasn’t prepared to surrender too simply.

Within the ultimate minute of regulation, Merissah Russell acquired a go within the nook. The guard half-faked a three-point try earlier than dribbling round her defender and hitting a layup to tie the sport with 26 seconds remaining.

Russell stored Louisville in a sport that the guests led by three quarters, however Brooks’ starters performed all 10 minutes of the fourth quarter to get the sport to additional time. From there, the Wildcats took over and received the commonwealth for the season, defeating Louisville 71-61.

Regardless that Kentucky received this spherical, all sides options sturdy underclassmen who confirmed that the rivalry is in a very good place. Wildcats sophomore Clara Strack is enjoying a Elizabeth Kitley-like position that Brooks excelled with in Blacksburg, with the 6-foot-5 heart main the crew in factors (16.3) and rebounds per sport (10.8).

Picture by Dylan Buell/Getty Photographs

For Louisville, true freshman Tjianna Roberts averages 14.3 factors and three.0 is Walz star for the longer term already enjoying like one.

Kentucky and Louisville is a sport to look at for the foreseeable future if Saturday is any indication of what’s to come back.

Stanford falls in Huge Ten nation

Indiana has already been the house for a number of ranked upsets in solely two weeks of the NCAA season.

Final week, it was then No. 25 Indiana falling to the Harvard Crimson. The Ivy League aspect received 72-68, with the Hoosiers capturing 34.7 p.c from the sector and 16.7 p.c from past the arc.

That defeat and an ideal begin to the season for the Stanford Cardinal kicked the Hoosiers out of the weekly rankings and put the now-ACC aspect of their place.

Sunday, Indiana turned the tables.

Indiana guard Chloe Moore-McNeil, identified for her crew management and protection, added offensive effectivity. The graduate senior led the Hoosiers with 21 factors and 4 steals, together with 4 pictures from deep for Yarden Garzon and 19 factors from Penn State switch guard Shay Ciezki.

Wealthy Janzaruk/Herald-Occasions / USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Photographs

The 2 sides traded leads 5 occasions within the first quarter, however from then on it was all Indiana. The Hoosiers seemed like they had been over the post-Mackenzie Holmes hangover and located offense on the perimeter with 9 complete three-point pictures to guide for the final three quarters and stifle the beginning of the season for Stanford.

A Hoosier victory didn’t put Indiana into the top-25, contemplating they adopted up the loss to Harvard with one other upset towards in-state Butler College. Nonetheless, if this can be a signal of Teri Moren’s aspect figuring issues out, Indiana might be in a very good place heading into Huge Ten play on the finish of December.

For No. 24 Stanford, sophomore ahead Nunu Agara led the best way with 15 factors and confirmed the Cardinal are going to play bodily, outscoring Indiana within the paint 34-28. Even so, the defeat reveals that first yr Stanford head coach Kate Paye had extra adjusting to do.

Notable upsets

Each upsets within the top-25 got here Sunday, together with one sport that was too shut for consolation for a Huge Ten aspect.

After Indiana’s win, the TCU Horned Frogs pulled out a win of their very own towards a prime crew, defeating No. 13 NC State 76-73. Sedona Prince, a 6-foot-7 senior was an excessive amount of for the Wolfpack to deal with. Prince scored 31 factors and added 16 rebounds with former LSU Tiger Hailey Van Lith including a double-double of her personal with 18 factors and 10 assists.

For 2 straight weeks, TCU’s earned the second most votes exterior of the top-25, however the win over NC State put them into the rankings for under the fifth time in 15 years. It’s the second loss for NC State this season, however every sport was towards prime groups within the nation. On Nov. 10, it was a 71-57 defeat to the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks.

Elsewhere, the Duke Blue Devils and Ohio State Buckeyes had close to upsets.

No. 16 Duke had theirs towards a crew that doesn’t get the nationwide consideration till March in South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits have solely missed the NCAA match 4 occasions since 2009, and have even been ranked prior to now three years.

Enjoying in South Dakota, the Blue Devils held a lead for the whole fourth quarter, however South Dakota stored coming on the ACC aspect. Vanessa De Jesus helped hold the Jackrabbits at bay with seven fourth quarter factors to come back away with a 75-71 victory.

In Tennessee although, No. 12 Ohio State minimize it shut. Identified for needing comebacks over the previous few seasons, head coach Kevin McGuff’s aspect didn’t envision needing one towards the Belmont Bruins Sunday.

Final season, the Buckeyes dispatched the Bruins 84-55. With 5:21 remaining Sunday, Ohio State was down 9 factors on a capturing effectivity day the place dangerous doesn’t begin to describe it.

The Buckeyes went 5-for-8 to finish the sport, and their protection pressured 9 straight misses for the Bruins to provide Ohio State a 67-63 victory. Cotie McMahon was the lone constant offensive risk with 21 factors, however freshman Jaloni Cambridge scored them once they counted. Cambridge had seven of her 10 factors within the ultimate 2:09 of the sport.

That play included a layup within the paint with the sport tied 63-63 that turned a three-point play from the free throw line. Then, on protection, Cambridge took contact on the perimeter to get two extra free throws to ice the win.