The theme from final week’s school basketball video games was honoring the previous. Within the SEC and Huge Ten, two names who’ve formed the way forward for the game had their jersey numbers immortalized of their respective college rafters. These ceremonies represented how the previous impacts the current day of ladies’s school basketball, as Caitlin Clark and A’ja Wilson have been honored over the weekend.
Under we break down the most recent rating and different highlights from week 13 of the NCAA girls’s basketball season.
AP prime 25 girls’s school basketball rankings:
- UCLA
- South Carolina
- Notre Dame
- Texas
- UConn
- LSU
- USC
- Ohio State
- TCU
- Duke
- Kentucky
- Kansas State
- North Carolina
- NC State
- Oklahoma
- Maryland
- Georgia Tech
- West Virginia
- Tennessee
- Michigan State
- Cal
- Florida State
- Alabama
- Vanderbilt
- Oklahoma State
Others receiving votes: Creighton 30, Baylor 24, Illinois 13, Utah 12, Mississippi 11, Michigan 7, Minnesota 6, South Dakota St. 6, Harvard 5, Columbia 2, Richmond 1.
Caitlin Clark Jersey Retirement Upset
On Sunday, the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks and unranked Iowa Hawkeyes took benefit of the “2/2” date on the calendar to honor their well-known No. 22 jersey bearers.
The Gamecocks honored former Nationwide Champion and WNBA MVP A’ja Wilson. Regardless of already having a statue outdoors of Colonial Life Area, Wilson’s jersey quantity wasn’t hanging from the rafters till Sunday.
In a ceremony stuffed with emotion, Wilson stood at heart court docket together with her household and head coach Daybreak Staley as a highlight shined on her newly retired quantity. Wilson cried throughout the as soon as in a lifetime second. On the court docket, there was lots much less emotion because the Gamecocks cruised to a 17-point win over the 11-11 Clemson Tigers.
In Iowa Metropolis, it was a unique story. Not that it lacked emotion — removed from it. The previously ranked Hawkeyes welcomed the No. 4 USC Trojans to Carver-Hawkeye Area and after one quarter it appeared just like the Iowa of Caitlin Clark’s day, with Iowa surging forward to an 18-4 lead.
As guard JuJu Watkins and the USC Trojans surged in a second quarter the place the West Coast aspect outscored Iowa 25-10, you couldn’t assist however assume that USC successful was the foregone conclusion. With Clark sitting within the stands, awaiting her personal jersey retirement after the sport, it was a livelier crowd than regular on campus and Iowa didn’t let the sport slip.
As an alternative, the Hawkeyes put 48 on the scoreboard within the second half to choose up a 76-69 upset victory over the Trojans, which is the primary in-conference loss for USC this season. Iowa switch guard Lucy Olsen scored 15 factors within the fourth quarter and the Hawkeyes protection held Watkins to 9 second half factors.
After shedding 5 video games in a row, and falling out of the top-25, the Hawkeyes are on a three-game successful streak. Following the win, and after college students obtained again into the stands after storming the court docket, Clark had her No. 22 positioned within the rafters too, and two school basketball legends acquired correct immortalizing.
Terrapins Proceed Tumble
On Jan. 20, then No. 8 Maryland misplaced large to the No. 7 Texas Longhorns and within the course of misplaced guard Shyanne Sellers to damage. That got here after the varsity introduced shedding guard Bri McDaniel on account of an ACL tear.
That loss began a three-game shedding streak to No. 12 Ohio State and No. 1 UCLA, however this week Sellers returned and so did getting on the successful aspect of the field rating. Touring to Penn State, an unranked aspect that already upset the Buckeyes in earlier weeks, Sellers returned to attain 10 factors in 20 minutes.
Maryland received 82-73 and appeared like they have been again to increase the chemistry and momentum that obtained them to the highest 10 within the first place.
Quick ahead to Sunday and the Terrapins welcomed the unranked Illinois Preventing Illini, taking part in with out beginning guard Makira Prepare dinner. The 2 sides went backwards and forwards to the tune of 14 lead modifications, however with 13.9 seconds remaining Sellers confirmed how she makes the Terps such a harmful crew and put the house aspect up a degree with a midrange jumper.
It was two of Sellers’ 14 factors in 25 minutes as she returns from a proper knee damage, however two lower than Maryland hoped. Illinois guard Genesis Bryant, who led all scorers with 20 factors, earned a visit to the free throw line with the sport on the road and hit each in a excessive strain state of affairs to present Illinois a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. On the ultimate inbound, Sellers had a midrange try from the baseline, but it surely bounced off the rim to present the Illini their fourth win in a row.
It exhibits that the McDaniel absence goes to take extra time for the Terrapins to recover from because the common season involves an in depth over the subsequent 4 weeks.
UConn Cruising, SEC on the Horizon
With the No. 6 UConn Huskies taking part in within the Huge East, a convention that includes just one ranked crew (the Huskies), it’s anticipated that UConn will win the convention title. Within the final 4 seasons, UConn swept the common season and match trophies and this 12 months appears to be like no totally different.
Head coach Geno Auriemma’s aspect is on an 11-game successful streak, all towards convention opponents, after shedding at residence to the USC Trojans. Not solely are the Huskies successful however they’re demolishing all opponents.
In 11 video games, UConn is outscoring opponents by 33.6 factors per recreation. In opposition to Xavier, UConn held the Musketeers to 27 factors. When the Huskies welcomed Seton Corridor, they despatched them residence with a 96-36 defeat.
This week, the Huskies dispatched DePaul and Butler with relative ease, due partially to UConn lastly being wholesome and having their finest gamers out there on the similar time. Sunday towards the Butler Bulldogs, six gamers reached double-figure scoring, with guards Paige Bueckers and Azzi Fudd scoring 18 and 13 factors respectively.
Freshman ahead Sarah Robust had 22 factors in two video games this week, amassing a powerful first season within the Huge East. Robust received Freshman of the Week eight of the 12 weeks of the marketing campaign, and three of these instances Robust paired it with Participant of the Week honors.
For the third time this season, Sarah Robust is the BIG EAST Participant and Freshman of the Week!
Sarah averaged 24.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 4.0 APG, 2.5 BPG and three.5 SPG in two wins final week pic.twitter.com/aJPs19OZ0L
— UConn Girls’s Basketball (@UConnWBB) January 27, 2025
Nonetheless, as a result of lower than thrilling convention schedule, UConn hasn’t grabbed nationwide consideration day in and day trip, till this month. Within the subsequent 15 days, the Huskies journey to 2 hostile SEC environments, beginning this week with a visit to Knoxville to play the Tennessee Volunteers Thursday night time.
Then, on Sunday the sixteenth, it’s a visit to the No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks. How has the convention schedule ready the Huskies for the 2 non-conference challenges to assist usher within the postseason? That query will get solutions this week.
Different Tales of the Week
- The No. 13 Oklahoma Sooners fell twice this week to ranked SEC opponents. First it was a Thursday journey to Baton Rouge, falling to the No. 7 LSU Tigers 107-100. Then, on Sunday, the Sooners welcomed the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats, falling 95-86. The Sooners are on a stretch of three losses of their final 4 video games.
- Sticking with the SEC, the No. 18 Tennessee Volunteers fell to the No. 2 Gamecocks in an in depth residence recreation on Jan. 27, with the massive story approaching the bench with Vols head coach Kim Caldwell returning to the job one week after giving delivery to her son.
- Since upsetting the then No. 13 UNC Tar Heels, the No. 25 Florida State Seminoles are on a tear, defeating Boston Faculty and Wake Forest final week by over 20 factors in every recreation. Guard Taniya Latson scored 46 mixed factors within the two victories.