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Women's college basketball power rankings: UCLA leapfrogs Iowa for No. 2, LSU continues slide – CBS Sports
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November has seen quite a few top teams suffer shocking losses, most notably Iowa and UConn leaving the undefeated club. Meanwhile, South Carolina has been cruising against tough opponents by dominating on both ends of the court.
It is still early in the season, though, so it’s the perfect time for teams to learn about themselves and make adjustments. Caitlin Clark and Iowa worked on their offensive plan after losing to Kansas State, while Paige Bueckers and UConn sharpened up the defense following an “embarrassing” loss to NC State.
As for Pac-12 teams, there is no shortage of entertainment on the West Coast. Stanford, UCLA and USC have all had upset scares, but they have managed to pull through to keep their perfect records. Also making the conference proud are Colorado, Utah and Washington State.
Here are our latest power rankings for the 2023-24 women’s college basketball season.
For the first time in program history, the Gamecocks won their first three games while scoring at least 100 points in each of those contests. In Monday’s 78-38 win against South Dakota State, however, South Carolina’s defense stole the show as the Jackrabbits shot only 27.4% from the field. Dawn Staley’s team is deep with eight players averaging at least eight points, and senior center Kamilla Cardoso leads the group with 17.5 points and 11.3 rebounds per game. Both Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins are among the nation’s top shot blockers as both are averaging around four rejections a game.
The Bruins almost suffered their first loss against Princeton last Friday, but they managed to stay undefeated with a 77-74 win. UCLA turned up its defense in the fourth quarter to secure the victory, holding the Tigers to just 4-of-14 shooting from the field over that stretch. Princeton might not be ranked yet, but it’s a team that could easily slip into the top 25 as the season progresses. Five Bruins are averaging at least 12 points, while Lauren Betts is averaging a double-double of 19.5 points and 10.8 rebounds per game.
This is Colorado’s best season since 1995 thus far, and the Buffaloes continue taking care of business with double-digit wins again every opponent they’ve faced. Colorado came from behind to beat Oklahoma State, but against SMU the Buffaloes trailed for just 30 seconds as they held the Mustangs to eight made field goals in the entire second half. This is the fifth 4-0 start to a season for Colorado since JR Payne took over as head coach in 2016.
The first half of Stanford’s game against Belmont on Wednesday was not pretty, but the Cardinal stepped up — particularly Cameron Brink — to claim a 74-55 win. Brink scored a team-high 27 points, with 22 of those coming in the second half, and registered a double-double by adding 16 rebounds. Stanford’s game against Duke on Sunday was also tough, and that 82-79 win required overtime. Brink led the way in that one too, scoring a career-high 29 points — including nine in the extra period — to go along with 11 rebounds and six blocks.
The Hawkeyes were upset 65-58 at home by Kansas State last Thursday in a rare cold shooting night for star Caitlin Clark. Iowa didn’t make enough offensive adjustments and went scoreless over the final 2:43, while the Wildcats enjoyed a 12-0 run to end the game. However, Lisa Bluder’s squad bounced back on Sunday with a 113-90 win over Drake. Clark registered her 39th 30-point game in the victory, but she shared the spotlight with teammate Kate Martin, who registered a career-high 25 points.
After losing to NC State on Nov. 12, the Huskies cleaned up their defense and responded with an 80-48 victory over a ranked Maryland team. That was the fewest amount of points the Terrapins scored in a game since 2012. UConn won’t be getting Azzi Fudd back this season as she suffered a significant knee injury, but this team is still deep with multiple contributors showing out every night. Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards are the most consistent scorers, as each average around 18 points per game while shooting above 50% from the field.
This is a very talented roster with six double-digit scorers, and the spotlight is currently on freshman guard Mikaylah Williams, who leads the team by averaging 19.2 points while shooting 56.3% from the field and 56.7% from beyond the arc. Angel Reese leads the team in rebounds with 10.3 boards per game, but she has missed the last two games under mysterious circumstances.
The Trojans escaped an upset against Penn State on Wednesday thanks to freshman JuJu Watkins closing the game with a 7-0 run by herself, lifting her team to a 71-70 victory. Watkins’ 31 points that night tied her with Lisa Leslie for the most 30-point games as a freshman in USC history. She also earned the first double-double of her college career with a game-high 12 rebounds. Meanwhile, junior center/forward Rayah Marshall got her third double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Starting forward Kaitlyn Davis was out against Penn State because of an injury, but it seems her team was still able to take care of business during her absence, which is expected to be brief.
The Wolfpack has not slowed down since upsetting UConn on Nov. 12. NC State is 4-0 for the 10th time in coach Wes Moore’s 11 seasons with the program. Junior guard Saniya Rivers has proven her breakout game against the Huskies wasn’t a fluke. She is the team’s second-leading scorer with 17. 3 points per contest, behind only Aziaha James (20.3). Rivers was on triple-double watch with 19 points, seven assists and six steals in her team’s 67-58 win over Rhode Island on Sunday.
Virginia Tech emphatically bounced back from its Nov. 9 loss to Iowa with a 105-36 win against Houston Christian, which marked the largest margin of victory in program history. Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore are leading the Hokies with 24.3 and 16 points per game, respectively. The Hokies also claimed a 72-51 win over UNC Greensboro on Saturday, when Kitley scored a season-high 31 points to go along with 10 rebounds and three blocks.
First five out: Mississippi State, Creighton, Marquette, Princeton, Gonzaga
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