The Baylor Lady Bears remained number one in the Associated Press Top-25 Poll (Jan.28) for the fourth consecutive week after going 2-0 during the week. The Lady Bears (18-1) defeated then-No. 23 Iowa State 66-51 on Jan. 23, and then- No. 20 Oklahoma 82-65 on Jan. 26.
Baylor, which has won 30 straight Big 12 contests, received 37 first place votes and 997 total points. The 37 first place votes that the Lady Bears received were two more than the previous week. Third ranked Connecticut (19-1) received the other three first place votes but is still 23 points behind second-ranked Notre Dame (19-1). The Fighting Irish won their 14th straight game and improved to 6-1 against ranked opponents with a 77-67 victory over ninth-ranked Tennessee (16-4) on Jan. 28
Stanford (18-2) went 2-0 during the week and moved up two spots to number four while Duke (18-1) dropped one spot after suffering their first loss of the season when they fell to third ranked Connecticut (77-47) on Jan. 21.
California (17-2) and Penn State (17-2) each moved up one spot to sixth and seventh, respectively. Kentucky (19-2) fell three spots to eighth while Tennessee (16-4) and Maryland (17-3) round out the top-10.
North Carolina (19-2) remained at number 11 and is followed by Louisville (17-4), Georgia (17-3), Purdue (17-3) and South Carolina (18-3).
Texas A&M (16-5) and Dayton (17-1) is ranked 16th and 17th, respectively. UCLA (15-4) moved up one spot to 18th while Oklahoma State (15-4) dropped seven spots to 19th. Florida State (!7-4) jumped two spots to 20th.
Hottest team: Baylor. The Lady Bears have won 16 straight games since falling to then fourth-ranked Stanford 71-69 on Nov. 16. Baylor has won each of their last 16 games by double digits and is 7-0 against ranked teams during their streak.
Biggest move up the rankings: South Carolina. The Gamecocks moved up three spots after going 2-0 during the week. South Carolina upset fifth-ranked Kentucky 55-50 at home and defeated Arkansas 43-40 on the road.
Biggest move down the rankings: Oklahoma State. The Cowgirls moved down seven spots after going 1-1 during the week. Oklahoma State is 4-4 in their last eight games after losing to West Virginia on Jan. 29.
Best matchups this week: No. 5 Duke at No. 11 North Carolina on Feb. 3, No. 13 Georgia at No. 8 Kentucky on Feb. 3., No. 20 Florida State at No. 11 North Carolina on Jan. 31, No. 19 Oklahoma State at No. 1 Baylor on Feb. 2, and No. 22 Colorado at No. 18 UCLA on Feb. 1.
Top-25 results from games on Jan. 29
No. 3 Connecticut 76, Villanova 43
Third-ranked Connecticut Huskies shot 50 percent (30-60) from the field en route to 76-43 victory over the Villanova Wildcats.
Stefanie Dolson led the way for the Huskies (19-1, 6-1 Big East) with 20 points and eight rebounds while Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis added 19 points, connecting on five of six three-pointers. Breanna Stewart Stewart contributed 14 points and six rebounds.
Villanova (16-4, 5-2 Big East) shot 27.6 percent (16-58) from the field and didn’t have any player reach double figures in scoring.
Jesse Carey scored nine points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out two assists to lead the Wildcats.
UConn is now 59-1 in their last 60 games in Hartford.
No. 25 Delaware 77, Northeastern 50
Elena Della Donne scored 26 points to lead 25th-ranked Delaware to a 77-50 victory over Northeastern. With the victory, the Blue Hens (16-3, 7-0 CAA) extended their win streak to 11 games this season and to 26 over Colonial Athletic Association teams during the regular season.
Delle Donne connected on 10-of-16 shot from the field, including 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Lauren Carra added 14 points and Danielle Parker contributed 10 points for Delaware. Kayla Miller dished out a career-high nine assists.
Kashia Cannon led the way for Northeastern (11-8, 4-4 CAA) with 10 points and Jewell Tunstall contributed eight points and 11 boards.
West Virgina 67, No. 19 Oklahoma State 61
The West Virginia Mountaineers snapped a three-game losing streak with a 67-61 upset of No. 19 Oklahoma State.
Christal Caldwell led the way for the Mountaineers with 21 points, including five three-pointers, to go along with seven rebounds and six assists. Averee Fields added 19 points for West Virginia (12-8, 4-5 Big 12).
Tiffany Bias and Toni Young each pumped in 15 points for Oklahoma State (15-4, 4-4 Big 12), which has split their last eight games after starting the season 11-0.
Oklahoma (15-4), Colorado (15-4) and Iowa State (14-4) are ranked 20th through 22nd. Iowa (16-5) and Delaware (16-3) moved into the rankings at 24th and 25th. (19-1). The Fighting Irish won their 14th straight game and improved to 6-1 against ranked opponents with a 77-67 victory over ninth-ranked Tennessee (16-4) on Jan. 28
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