Women's College Basketball Rankings: AP Poll Top 25 updated after first week

The first week of women’s college basketball is in the books. With that, the AP Poll has been updated for the Top 25 in the sport.

At this point in the season, teams have only played in one or two games, so there often isn’t a ton of movement from the initial Preseason AP Top 25. However, there have been some teams to already add marquee wins and lose games. So, the week hasn’t been without excitement.

With that in mind, here is a look at the updated AP Top 25 Poll:

1. South Carolina

It’s been a good start to the season for the South Carolina Gamecocks as they look to defend their national championship run from last season. They’ve managed that against a tough schedule too, beating two power conference teams to start the year, including a ranked NC State team by 14 points.

Te-Hina Paopao led the way for the Gamecocks in scoring against NC State. She had 23 points in the win and looked like she could become the team’s go-to option on offense all season long. Of course, it’s a long year and this is a very deep team.

2. UConn

This season, UConn is led by arguably the best player in the country in Paige Bueckers. She’s phenomenal and will likely be a high WNBA Draft pick. For the time being, though, she’s dominating the college game. Most recently, that manifested in a 22-point performance against USF.

On the court, the Huskies haven’t truly been tested yet, winning both of their first two games by more than 30 points. However, they will be getting a test this upcoming week with a game against North Carolina. That should be the first true test of the season for UConn.

3. USC

The USC Trojans started their season with a close contest against a talented Ole Miss team. The Trojans were able to survive that game and walk away from it with a hard fought win. From there, USC earned a dominant win over Cal Poly.

The Trojans have some of the best players in the country on their team this season. That starts with JuJu Watkins, who is capable of taking over any game she’s in. Then, players like Kiki Iriafen help round out an incredibly talented team.

4. Texas

Texas has played one game to this point in the season. That one game against Southeast Missouri State wasn’t particularly close, either. With a 119-47 final score, it was never in doubt that Texas would open the season with a win.

Next up for Texas is another home game against Lamar before they hit the road to take on DePaul. From there, the Longhorns won’t see a team that’s currently ranked in the AP Poll until their matchup with Notre Dame that’s coming in December.

5. UCLA

Just like everyone else in the current AP Top 5, the UCLA Bruins haven’t lost a game yet this season. That includes a game against another team that is currently ranked, beating Louisville by seven points in the opener. The Bruins also beat Colgate.

Next up for UCLA is a home game against Pepperdine. That will be part of the lead-up to one of the most anticipated non-conference games of the season when UCLA is going to play South Carolina in late November.

6. Notre Dame

Led by Hannah Hidalgo, Notre Dame is looking to make noise in women’s college basketball this season. Now a sophomore, Hidalgo is already averaging 23.5 points per game. Of course, she’s not alone and the Irish have a deep team across the board.

Coming off a 102-58 win over Purdue, the Irish look like one of the best all around teams in the country. They’ll look to keep that going in the coming weeks too. That starts with their next home game against James Madison.

7. LSU

Over the past several seasons, LSU has been consistently one of the SEC’s best teams and a threat come March. Even with Angel Reese moving on to the WNBA, the Tigers are once again expected to be there at the end of the year and they’ve looked excellent so far this season.

LSU has scored 95 points in each of its first two games this season. The offense is explosive already with Flau’jae Johnson averaging 24.5 points per game. She’ll look to keep that success going in the Tigers’ next game against Charleston Southern.

8. Iowa State

The Iowa State Cyclones are off to a good start in the 2024-25 season, winning three games already. None of those initial games have been particularly close, either. However, it’s also worth pointing out that the Cyclones have yet to play a power conference opponent.

There will be plenty of opportunities down the line for Iowa State to prove themselves against top-tier competition. For the time being, that’s still going to come against opponents Iowa State should be able to take care of and keep them highly ranked in the AP Poll.

9. Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners, like rival Texas, are in the midst of transitioning to the SEC from the Big 12 this season. To this point, it’s been so far, so good for the Sooners. That’s with big wins over Southern and Virginia already this season.

Notably, Oklahoma is the highest team in the AP Poll this week whose ranking changed. The Sooners are up one spot after NC State stumbled and Oklahoma kept winning in dominant fashion. From here, they’ll look to keep that momentum moving forward.

10. Kansas State

Kansas State, like Oklahoma, moved up in the AP Poll after finding some early season success. That includes a pair of dominant wins over Green Bay and Belmont. Both of those games were at least 26-point margins for Kansas State.

Through two games, Kansas State has shown its depth as a team. However, Temira Poindexter is one of the standouts, averaging 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds through those first two contests. She’ll look to keep it up moving forward with a game against Creighton this week.

Rest of AP Top 25 Poll

11. Maryland
12. Ohio State
13. NC State
14. North Carolina
15. West Virginia
16. Duke
17. Baylor
18. Louisville
19. Ole Miss
20. Kentucky
21. Nebraska
22. Alabama
23. Illinois
24. Stanford
25. Oregon