UCLA is No. 1 in the AP top 25 women's college basketball poll for the first time in program history after taking down then-No. 1 South Carolina on Sunday, snapping the Gamecocks' 43-game winning streak. It was a big weekend in Los Angeles, creating a lot of movement in this week's top 25.
South Carolina arrived to Pauley Pavilion as the unanimous No. 1, but the Bruins put on a defensive clinic against the reigning national champions in a 77-62 victory -- their first against a top-ranked opponent. That game showed how much depth UCLA has, but the Bruins are not the unanimous No. 1 yet.
Elsewhere in Los Angeles, USC suffered an upset loss to Notre Dame on Saturday after an impressive performance by Hannah Hidalgo. The Fighting Irish took the Trojans' No. 3 spot in the rankings, while UConn held strong at No. 2.
"I don't mean to be boring, but I really don't care where, who's ranked, what at what point," Close said Sunday in regard to UCLA's argument for the No. 1 spot. "... I think we have a lot of teams that can make a really, a good sort of case for how to be No. 1. And I think that's a great testament to our game. There's a lot more parity than there used to be."
South Carolina moved down to No. 4, and Texas rounded out the top five. USC dropped to No. 6.
Iowa has entered the top 25 for the first time this season at No. 22, as the Hawkeyes are off to a 6-0 start under first-year coach Jan Jensen.
AP Women's College Basketball Top 25
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA | 5-0 | 782 (20) | 5 |
| 2 | UConn | 4-0 | 760 (9) | 2 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 5-0 | 751 (3) | 6 |
| 4 | South Carolina | 5-1 | 688 | 1 |
| 5 | Texas | 4-0 | 677 | 4 |
| 6 | USC | 4-1 | 630 | 3 |
| 7 | LSU | 6-0 | 593 | 7 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 5-0 | 572 | 9 |
| 9 | Kansas State | 5-0 | 532 | 10 |
| 10 | Maryland | 6-0 | 527 | 11 |
| 11 | Ohio State | 5-0 | 462 | 12 |
| 12 | West Virginia | 6-0 | 440 | 13 |
| 13 | Duke | 5-1 | 360 | 14 |
| 14 | Kentucky | 5-0 | 344 | 15 |
| 15 | Iowa State | 5-1 | 337 | 8 |
| 16 | North Carolina | 5-1 | 310 | 16 |
| 17 | TCU | 6-0 | 2755 | 19 |
| 18 | Ole Miss | 3-1 | 261 | 17 |
| 19 | Illinois | 5-0 | 183 | 22 |
| 20 | NC State | 3-2 | 173 | 20 |
| 21 | Oregon | 6-0 | 161 | 23 |
| 22 | Iowa | 6-0 | 147 | NR |
| 23 | Alabama | 6-0 | 129 | 24 |
| 24 | Louisville | 4-2 | 75 | 25 |
| 25 | Nebraska | 5-1 | 58 | 21 |
Others receiving votes: Michigan 51, Michigan State 25, Baylor 23, Vanderbilt 21, Stanford 17, Indiana 9, Tennessee 9, Florida State 6, Miami 4, Richmond 4, Creighton 2, Harvard 1, Minnesota 1