Women’s basketball rankings: Top 8 teams remain the same, injuries hit UConn and South Carolina

The Big Ten and SEC dominate the top teams in the latest AP top 25 women’s basketball poll

The first full week of women’s college basketball returned this week as the calendar page flipped to 2025. With all conferences now fully in league play, teams throughout the top-25 rankings faced off against programs in and just out of the weekly AP poll.

It included one SEC side falling late, another almost dropping an 18-point third quarter lead and the Los Angeles schools continuing to show they’re primed for strong conference performances.

Here is how all the teams stack up.

AP top 25 women’s college basketball rankings:

1. UCLA
2. South Carolina
3. Notre Dame
4. USC
5. Texas
6. LSU
7. UConn
8. Maryland
9. Ohio State
10. Oklahoma
11. TCU
12. Kansas State
13. Georgia Tech
14. Duke
15. Kentucky
16. Tennessee
17. West Virginia
18. Alabama
19. North Carolina
20. Michigan State
21. NC State
22. Utah
23. Iowa
24. Cal
25. Michigan

Others receiving votes: Florida St. 18, Vanderbilt 18, Mississippi 14, Harvard 10, Minnesota 7, Oklahoma St. 5, Washington 2, Mississippi St. 1.

Texas Freshman Shines

On Jan. 2, the No. 5 Texas Longhorns traveled north to No. 9 Oklahoma to renew the Red River Rivalry. It was the first time both teams played the rivalry on the women’s basketball court in the new SEC, after both sides left the Big 12 in the offseason.

Entering the game, a major storyline surrounded new Sooner transfer Raegan Beers playing in her first edition of the rivalry and Texas’ outstanding sophomore Madison Booker hoping to continue her strong form against Oklahoma in two previous games, both Longhorn losses. Due to foul trouble, neither Beers or Booker played more than 20 minutes, combining for 19 points and 10 rebounds between the two All-Americans.

That meant different names needed to step up early in the game and Texas needed all the help it could get. In the second quarter, Oklahoma already amassed a 12-point lead in front of a friendly Norman, OK crowd. Up a dozen with 8:38 remaining in the second quarter, the Longhorns leaned on Miami transfer Kyla Oldacre.

With Beers on the bench in foul trouble, Oldacre controlled the game inside the paint, scoring six points, four of which came from the free throw line with Oklahoma doing whatever they could to stop the big. Point guard Rori Harmon added six points of her own in the quarter and Texas scored 20 of the last 27 points of the second period to take a one-point lead into the halftime locker room.

Oklahoma tied the game at the end of the third quarter but turnovers and inefficient shooting did in the home side in the fourth. The Longhorns forced eight turnovers and held Oklahoma to 37.5 percent shooting.

With Booker held back with fouls, it was freshman guard Jordan Lee stepping up for head coach Vic Schaefer. Lee entered Tuesday averaging 16 minutes and 5.9 points per game. The freshman eclipsed both of those in the first half alone, going 3-of-6 from the floor, scoring nine points in 19 minutes.

Lee ended the day leading the Longhorns with 17 points in a career high 33 minutes.

After the game Schaefer credited Lee for making big shots and added “if I could get her to rebound a little bit more I think she’d really be a good player.”

Oklahoma’s Bounces Back, Escapes Knoxville

Oklahoma’s road didn’t get much easier on Sunday, traveling to Tennessee to face the undefeated Volunteers. However, the Sooners made it look pretty easy in spells against the young Vols side led by first year Tennessee coach Kim Caldwell.

With 3:49 remaining in the third quarter, Oklahoma had a 19-point lead and it looked like the Vols were destined to their first defeat in the Caldwell era. However, in the fourth quarter, Tennessee showed that they had a lot of fight left.

Tennessee hit another level of intensity defensively, forcing eight turnovers from the Sooners in the fourth quarter. Offensively, the Vols took 19 shots, hitting 11 and found themselves down one point with 40 seconds remaining.

With what could have been the final possession, the Tennessee defense won back the ball on an Oklahoma turnover, the last of a season high 31 for the Sooners. It gave the home side nine seconds to play with, and attempt to pull off the unthinkable comeback, only needing a layup or foul and free throws to pull out a marquee victory.

Tennessee put a play together but once the ball got into the hands of Sara Puckett, the senior forward was wide open at the top of the arc. Raegan Beers laid off the 24 percent three-point shooter, almost daring her to shoot with three seconds left on the game clock. Puckett obliged, clanging the ball off the front of the rim and into the hands of a waiting Beers, locking in the victory for Oklahoma.

Payton Verlhust led the Sooners with 16 points and five rebounds. Tennessee’s Jewel Spear led all scorers with 28 points on 6-of-11 shooting from deep, including 11 points in the fourth quarter.

The loss and win this week for Oklahoma dropped the Sooners one spot to No. 10, with Tennessee also moving down one spot to No. 16.

Injuries Hit South Carolina and UConn

The No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks and No. 7 UConn Huskies each continued their undefeated conference schedules last week, but each game included a knee injury that could impact the sides as the season continues.

In the second quarter of the Gamecocks 96-68 win over Mississippi State, junior forward Ashlyn Watkins went up for a contested layup, landing awkwardly on her leg, causing the forward to leave the game.

Head coach Dawn Staley had no updates on the injury following the game, but Watkins did receive treatment in the arena and didn’t have to leave for the hospital. It’s a story to watch in the coming days with Watkins playing a key role off the Gamecocks bench. In 14 appearances this season, Watkins averages 7.2 points and 6.1 rebounds, playing 18.9 minutes per game behind starting forward Chloe Kitts.

Then, in the third quarter of the Huskies’ 83-52 win over Villanova, starting guard Paige Bueckers went to the ground to go after the ball when Jasmine Bascoe dove to the court to win the possession, landing on Bueckers’ leg, bending it awkwardly. Bueckers left the game and didn’t return.

After the victory, head coach Geno Auriemma was optimistic about the knee injury, saying “She’ll be fine. She looks good. I’m optimistic, let’s put it that way. I feel good.”

Auriemma later compared the injury to a similar knee issue for Azzi Fudd, who missed a month in 2022. Bueckers celebrated her 100th game with UConn over the weekend, after a college career that’s been lined with injuries. Bueckers missed the entire 2022-23 season due to a knee injury.

UConn won’t have any problems in Big East play without Bueckers but the Huskies have games against Tennessee and South Carolina between now and Feb. 16.

Other Stories of the Week

• The No. 8 Maryland Terrapins continued their program record start to the season Sunday, traveling to Iowa City to defeat the No. 23 Iowa Hawkeyes. Kaylene Smikle and Shyanne Sellers led the Terrapins with 26 and 17 points respectively in the 74-66 win.
• No. 3 Notre Dame traveled to Tobacco Road and defeated the No. 17 North Carolina Tar Heels 76-66 behind 24 points by guard Hannah Hidalgo and 13 team three-pointers.
• No. 25 Ole Miss fell out of the top-25 for the first time this season after scoring eight points in the fourth quarter to give up a 12-point fourth quarter lead in a 60-58 defeat to unranked Texas A&M.