NC State women's basketball climbs into AP Poll top-5
NC State women’s basketball started the season unranked. Thanks to seven-consecutive wins to start the year, the Wolfpack now sits at No. 5 in the Associated Press Poll.
The program quickly entered the top-25 after defeating UConn, ranked No. 2 at the time, in its second game of the season. From there, the Pack continued its success and won the Paradise Jam tournament, punctuating its trip with a 78-60 win over Colorado, the No. 3 team in the country last week.
Going into the latter half of its non-conference schedule, the Wolfpack stands 7-0 with an established space in the AP Poll’s top five. Only one of the program’s games, a 67-58 win over Rhode Island, was decided by fewer than 10 points.
NC State is the highest-ranked program in the ACC. Virginia Tech (No. 9), Florida State (No. 15), Notre Dame (No. 18), Louisville (No. 22) and North Carolina (No. 24) all cracked the top-25. The Pack is the only undefeated program out of that group.
ESPN also released a new edition of its weekly power rankings Monday, declaring “No team’s hotter than NC State” in its headline. The program slotted in at No. 5.
Four members of the Pack average double-digit points right now, led by junior guard Aziaha James at 16.6 points per game. Junior guard Saniya Rivers paces NC State with 4.7 assists and 2.4 steals per game. Graduate forward Mimi Collins leads the Pack at 6.3 rebounds per contest, and freshman forward Maddie Cox is blocking a 1 shot per game, more than any other member of the team.
Here is the full AP Poll, courtesy of the NCAA.
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (36) | 5-0 | 900 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 6-0 | 855 | 2 |
| 3 | Stanford | 7-0 | 803 | 4 |
| 4 | Iowa | 7-1 | 745 | 5 |
| 5 | NC State | 7-0 | 740 | 10 |
| 6 | Southern California | 5-0 | 643 | 8 |
| T-7 | LSU | 7-1 | 625 | 7 |
| T-7 | Colorado | 6-1 | 625 | 3 |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 5-1 | 585 | 9 |
| 10 | Texas | 7-0 | 560 | 12 |
| 11 | UConn | 4-2 | 541 | 6 |
| 12 | Utah | 5-1 | 517 | 10 |
| 13 | Baylor | 5-0 | 495 | 14 |
| 14 | Kansas State | 6-1 | 413 | 16 |
| 15 | Florida State | 5-1 | 409 | 13 |
| 16 | Ohio State | 5-1 | 406 | 15 |
| 17 | Indiana | 5-1 | 372 | 21 |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 5-1 | 367 | 17 |
| 19 | Ole Miss | 6-1 | 192 | 24 |
| 20 | Tennessee | 4-2 | 186 | 19 |
| 21 | Mississippi State | 8-0 | 181 | 25 |
| 22 | Louisville | 6-1 | 155 | 20 |
| 23 | Marquette | 6-0 | 76 | NR |
| 24 | North Carolina | 5-2 | 74 | 18 |
| 25 | Princeton | 4-2 | 58 | NR |
