UCLA bumps S. Carolina to top AP women's poll

UCLA is the new No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll after a historic win that lifted the school to its first appearance in the top spot.

The Bruins knocked off South Carolina, the defending national champion that had held the top spot in the previous 23 polls, on Sunday with a dominant 77-62 victory that snapped UCLA's 0-20 record against No. 1 teams. It came in front of a raucous, star-studded crowd, too.

"I think the piece that really hits me is that we're doing something for the first time in school history and we shared it with decades of alum," UCLA coach Cori Close said Monday as the poll was released. "It was great to have so many alumni in our locker room to share it with. The people that blazed the trail for us we're walking in is really special."

UCLA, which was No. 5 in the poll last week, earned 20 first-place votes from the 32-member national media panel. UConn remained second, garnering nine first-place votes after a historic week of its own with coach Geno Auriemma setting the NCAA all-time victories record.

Notre Dame, which pulled off its own upset over the weekend in Los Angeles by beating then-No. 3 USC, moved up to third. The Fighting Irish received the other three No. 1 votes in a week that saw only four teams remain in the same spots from last week's poll.

South Carolina dropped to fourth after its 43-game winning streak came to an end. Texas was fifth. USC fell to sixth with LSU, Oklahoma, Kansas State and Maryland finishing off the top 10. Iowa State dropped from eighth to 15th after a 12-point loss to Northern Iowa.

The Bruins are the 26th different school to hold the No. 1 spot in the history of the women's Top 25 that began in the 1976-77 season.

"We came here saying we want to be an elite basketball program and to be in that company as the 26th program ever to be a No. 1 team is significant," Close said. "I'm grateful."

Iowa's back

Iowa entered the Top 25 for the first time this season jumping into the poll at No. 22.

The Hawkeyes made it all the way up to No. 2 last season behind star guard Caitlin Clark, who is now flourishing in the WNBA. This year's team is 6-0 and has used stellar defense to stay unbeaten so far, holding four of its six opponents to under 60 points. Baylor fell out of the poll after a loss to Indiana.

Climbing the charts

Illinois moved up to No. 19 this week, the school's best ranking since it was 13th on Jan. 17, 2000. With South Carolina's loss, the Illini now have the longest active winning streak in the country with 10 consecutive victories. The team won the inaugural WBIT last season and is 5-0 this year.

Gamecock dominance

South Carolina had been No. 1 in 61 of the past 62 polls with the lone exception coming in the preseason Top 25 on Oct. 17, 2023, when then-defending champion LSU was the top choice. The Gamecocks then moved back up to No. 1 in the first regular season poll, climbing from No. 6, the biggest leap in the history of the poll to the top spot.

The last time South Carolina was not No. 1 before that was March 15, 2021, the final poll that season.

How good have the Gamecocks been recently? The loss to UCLA was the Gamecocks' biggest margin of defeat since the 2019 Sweet 16 and the school's first road loss since December 2021.

Coach Dawn Staley says her team will get back to work.

"Taking a loss will help us focus on anybody that we play," she said.