NCAAW Update: No Stopping South Carolina

There is little question about which team is the top national title contender with South Carolina dispatching another challenger in routine fashion. However, it has been a tougher journey for teams sitting in the No. 2 spot in the national rankings.

Iowa’s loss means that a new team is at No. 2 in the Associated Press poll with Ohio State moving on up.

When the season started, UConn was No. 2 behind defending national champion LSU. Iowa took over the No. 2 spot the following week before UCLA spent eight weeks in a row at No. 2. All three are still viewed as teams to watch according to the Women’s College Basketball lines.

Since then, it has been Iowa, UCLA and Kansas State taking turns at No. 2.

South Carolina never trailed against visiting UConn on Sunday. Te-Hina Paopao hit five 3-pointers and finished with 21 points to lead four starters scoring in double figures as the Gamecocks rolled to the 83-65 win. UConn scored the final five points as the Huskies avoided a rare 20-point loss.

Sophomores Chloe Kitts, Ashlyn Watkins and Raven Johnson combined for 39 points and 25 rebounds.

Paige Bueckers and Aaliyah Edwards had 20 points each for UConn.

A Look at the Polls

South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 team in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll.

Ohio State and Stanford both moved up three spots to come in at No. 2 and 3 in the latest Associated Press poll with Iowa falling two spots to No. 4 and North Carolina State tumbling from No. 3 to No. 6.

Oregon State made the biggest jump, moving from 17th to 11 while No. 8 Colorado, No. 15 UConn, and No. 16 Notre Dame all fell four spots.

Game of the Week

No. 6 North Carolina State at No. 16 Notre Dame

• Thursday, Feb. 15, 6 p.m. ET (ACC Network)

Two of the best freshmen in the country will be among the players to watch in this huge ACC matchup as Zoe Brooks and North Carolina State square off with Hannah Hidalgo and Notre Dame.

North Carolina State is 1½ games behind Virginia Tech in the ACC standings while Notre Dame is 2½ games back.

This will be the fourth matchup with a ranked team over the last five games for North Carolina State. Notre Dame can reach the .500 mark against ranked opponents with a win.

Player of the Week

Elizabeth Kitley, Virginia Tech

Four days after having 15 points and 15 rebounds in an overtime win over a ranked North Carolina team, Kitley had 25 points and 13 rebounds in a huge win over then-No. 3 North Carolina State. She topped off her impressive week with 24 points and 15 rebounds to lead Virginia Tech past unranked Boston College.

Kitley has at least 20 points in nine of her last 12 games with nine double-doubles during that stretch.

Team of the Week

Oregon State Beavers

Going on the road to beat one ranked team wasn’t enough for the Oregon State Beavers as they followed up a 14-point win at Utah by upsetting No. 4 Colorado 65-59.

Talia Von Oelhoffen led the way with 18 points against Colorado while Raegan Beers had 17 points against Utah. Oregon State has the longest active winning streak of five games among Pac-12 teams and the Beavers are just 1½ games out of first place in the Pac-12 standings.

Nationally Televised Top-10 Games

• Arizona at No. 10 Southern California, Monday, 9 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
• No. 6 North Carolina State at No. 16 Notre Dame, Thursday, 6 p.m. ET (ACC Network)
• No. 1 South Carolina at Tennessee, Thursday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPN)
• No. 8 Colorado at No. 22 Utah, Friday, 8 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
• California at No. 3 Stanford, Friday, 10 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)
• Iowa State at No. 5 Texas, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN2)
• Georgia Tech at No. 6 North Carolina State, Sunday, noon ET (CW Network)
• Georgia at No. 1 South Carolina, Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (ABC)
• No. 10 Southern California at No. 17 Oregon State, Sunday, 3 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
• No. 9 UCLA at Oregon, Sunday, 5 p.m. ET (Pac-12 Network)

Questions Of The Day

Who is the favorite to win the national title?

What is the first game this week between teams both ranked in the top 25 in the Associated Press poll?