Convention play is right here in NCAA ladies’s basketball, and week six featured ranked in-conference matchups for a handful of the top-25 groups. In Chapel Hill, the shock ACC crew of the season managed the Tar Heels, Sparty survived the Hawkeyes and the marquee matchup of the week grabbed consideration, regardless of it lacking a few of its star energy.
Right here’s how this and extra impacted the weekly AP ballot.
AP prime 25 ladies’s faculty basketball rankings after week six:
- UCLA
- South Carolina
- Notre Dame
- UConn
- LSU
- Texas
- USC
- Maryland
- Duke
- Oklahoma
- Ohio State
- TCU
- Kansas State
- West Virginia
- Michigan State
- Kentucky
- Georgia Tech
- Tennessee
- North Carolina
- Michigan
- NC State
- Iowa
- Nebraska
- Cal
- Ole Miss
Others receiving votes: Alabama 51, Iowa St. 33, Illinois 28, Utah 15, Vanderbilt 14, South Dakota St. 9, Richmond 5, Creighton 4, Oklahoma St. 3, Harvard 3, Mississippi St. 1.
Georgia Tech’s Historic Season
Final week, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets made the top-25 for the primary time this season, and the primary time since February of 2022. Regardless of beating two SEC groups and a then ranked Oregon Geese, it took a program file 10-0 begin earlier than Georgia Tech obtained the eye of voters.
It’s getting tougher to miss the Yellow Jackets after Sunday.
Taking part in of their first ACC sport of the season, No. 25 Georgia Tech traveled to Chapel Hill, NC to face the No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels.
North Carolina began sturdy, scoring seven of the primary 9 factors, however the Yellow Jackets flipped a seven-point deficit right into a nine-point lead earlier than the top of the primary quarter and by no means regarded again.
The Yellow Jackets shot 56.3 % from the ground and out rebounded the Tar Heels 15-7, with six offensive rebounds, within the first quarter, a microcosm of how Georgia Tech dealt with North Carolina all sport.
UNC head coach Courtney Banghart tried all she might to regulate, going from man protection to zone and rising defensive strain however no matter what North Carolina did, Georgia Tech thrived, even with an harm scare to standout level guard Tonie Morgan.
Within the second quarter, Morgan tried operating round a display screen when contact made the junior land exhausting on her knee, bending the knee awkwardly. Morgan was walked off the courtroom within the second quarter and it was not sure if she’s see the courtroom once more at present and even for the foreseeable future.
Freshman Dani Carnegie stepped up in her absence, scoring 22 factors within the sport and main Georgia Tech with 9 rebounds, enjoying a way more mature type of basketball for a primary yr participant.
Happily for the Yellow Jackets, and sadly for North Carolina, Morgan returned out of the halftime locker room and performed all 20 minutes of the second half. In that point, Morgan and Georgia Tech elevated their result in a game-high 23 factors. Within the fourth quarter, the Tar Heels tried mounting a comeback however ran out of time, falling 82-76.
Georgia Tech dominated, out rebounding the Tar Heels 41-24 with 4 gamers grabbing at the least 5 rebounds, plus 51.7 % capturing. Additionally, Morgan’s second quarter harm solely appeared to encourage the guard, main the sport with 23 factors on 8-of-11 capturing.
The victory not solely will increase an already program file begin to the season however it places Georgia Tech firmly within the dialog as a prime crew within the extremely aggressive ACC. Earlier than full convention play begins, the Yellow Jackets have another check this week towards a ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers, this time at dwelling.
UConn and Notre Dame in South Bend
Over the previous 4 years, the story surrounding the UConn Huskies contains accidents. Between accidents to Paige Bueckers and Azi Fudd, UConn not often performs at full power and Thursday had one other unlucky chapter on the incorrect evening.
On Dec. 7, Fudd injured her knee in a lopsided victory over the Louisville Cardinals. Whereas head coach Geno Auriemma didn’t say the harm would take Fudd out long run, it nonetheless meant the previous No. 1 freshman recruit would miss a top-10 sport towards the No. 8 Notre Dame Combating Irish.
That meant Bueckers and No. 1 2024 freshman recruit Sarah Robust needed to carry the load towards a Notre Dame crew that appears totally recovered from a two-game dropping streak again in late November. After defeating the No. 4 Texas Longhorns within the SEC-ACC Problem, the Irish had a lift of confidence and momentum that was nearly early within the first quarter of Thursday’s sport towards UConn.
Notre Dame guard Olivia Miles, who missed final season recovering from an ACL tear, suffered a tough ankle roll that took her out of the sport. They nonetheless had level guard Hannah Hidalgo.
The sophomore guard had 17 factors, eight rebounds and 5 assists, a good stat line any faculty participant would love, however oh yeah that was solely within the first half.
With two minutes remaining within the first quarter, UConn regarded like they may overcome the Fudd absence with Robust scoring consecutive baskets to place the Huskies forward, their first and final lead of the sport.
Hidalgo responded with two three-pointers, a part of a nine-point run that put the house aspect forward. UConn trailed for the primary time this season within the second quarter of a sport and an 11-point quarter by Hidalgo elevated the deficit additional going into halftime.
UConn surged within the third quarter, reducing the Notre Dame result in one level with 21 seconds remaining, sufficient time for Hidalgo to hit a three-point shot on the buzzer, beginning a nine-point run that Miles took over the end line within the fourth.
Returning to play 27 minutes within the win, Miles led the Irish with 9 fourth quarter factors and Notre Dame defeated the Huskies 79-68. Hidalgo had a profession day, scoring a brand new private file six pictures from past the arc in a 29-point, 10-rebound and eight-assist sport. Fellow guard Liatu King had her sixth double-double of the season with 16 factors and 12 rebounds.
It’s solely the second time within the historic rivalry the place the Irish have three straight wins over the Huskies, and the primary time since 2013.
Following the loss, Fudd was upgraded to day-to-day, however didn’t play in UConn’s 79-44 rout over the Georgetown Hoyas to begin Large East play. The Huskies aren’t full in convention mode but, welcoming the Iowa State Hawkeyes to Connecticut Tuesday.
Michigan State Comeback
Becoming a member of Georgia Tech within the file begins to the season had been the Michigan State Spartans. For the third time in Spartans basketball historical past, males or ladies, head coach Robyn Fralick’s aspect began the season an ideal 10-0, however getting there was hardly good towards the No. 21 Iowa Hawkeyes.
Contemporary off a Cy-Hawk win over the Iowa State Cyclones on Wednesday, the Hawkeyes traveled to East Lansing, Michigan for his or her first Large Ten sport of the season. This time, as a substitute of Iowa State’s Audi Crooks bringing physicality within the paint, the Hawkeyes needed to cope with a duo of cellular forwards in Grace VanSlooten and Julia Ayrault.
The Spartans and Hawkeyes performed a primary quarter that regarded extra like a stereotypical Large Ten soccer sport — low scoring and bodily.
Every crew introduced defensive depth, leading to 48 mixed fouls within the sport and 4 gamers fouling out. On the finish of the primary quarter there have been 5 lead modifications with the 2 Large Ten groups determining a approach to pull forward.
Iowa did simply that within the second quarter. Following an 0-of-5 begin for Iowa switch guard Lucy Olsen, the previous Villanova star discovered hr shot and once they started to fall, so did any type of Michigan State momentum.
Olsen hit the ultimate shot of the primary half and a 3 to begin the third quarter, placing the guests up eight factors early within the second half. Poor capturing plagued the Spartans, going 35.5 % from the ground within the third quarter and no one on Michigan State took the sport into their arms, till the fourth quarter.
It wasn’t VanSlooten or Ayrault both however guard Nyla Hampton. The previous Bowling Inexperienced Falcon, who performed beneath Fralick on the MAC college till she moved to the Large Ten, got here into Sunday’s ranked matchup averaging 4.6 factors in her first yr at Michigan State.
Within the fourth quarter she scored 13 factors.
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Robert Killips | Lansing State Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK by way of Imagn Photographs
Down 9 factors with 8:28 remaining, Michigan State went on a 14-point run, with eight of these factors coming from Hampton. It swung the sport into Sparty’s favor and with three minutes remaining, Michigan State had a seven level result in defend.
Iowa went on a six-point run and needed to foul the house aspect to gradual the sport down and hope for misses beneath the strain of holding onto the lead. It labored with the Spartans lacking three free throws in a row, with a fourth going into the ring however waved off as a consequence of a lane violation.
Up one level, Michigan State needed to cease Iowa on their remaining possession to win the sport, and the ball went to the arms of Olsen. Beneath duress from Michigan State’s protection, Olsen’s shot missed and Hampton grabbed her most vital rebound of the sport, a part of a team-leading 4 rebounds within the remaining quarter, securing the victory.
The 68-66 win wasn’t an offensive explosion for both crew, however it previewed what’s setting as much as be an thrilling convention schedule within the Large Ten.
Different Tales of the Week
- No. 19 Tennessee scored a whopping 139 factors in a 139-59 win over 0-11 NC Central. The rationale it made headlines wasn’t merely as a consequence of its lopsided nature of the scoreline however the Vols hitting an NCAA file 30 three-point pictures. Guard Samara Spencer set a brand new Tennessee college file with 9 pictures created from deep.
- No. 22 NC State survived towards Davidson 59-57, however responded in an enormous manner defeating the previously ranked Louisville Cardinals 72-42 on Sunday.
- Louisville has misplaced all 5 video games towards top-25 opponents this season, successful every of their six video games towards unranked groups.