By R.L. Bynum
After two non-conference victories last week, North Carolina fell one spot for the second consecutive week, and are No. 18 in the latest AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll.
Kansas State (4–0) leapfrogged UNC, going from unranked to No. 16 after winning 65–58 at Iowa (4–1), which fell two spots to No. 5.
The Tar Heels (4–0) easily earned a pair of home victories, beating Hampton 62–32 on Wednesday and rolling to a 68–39 Saturday victory over Elon. UNC leads he ACC in scoring defense (47.5 points per game), turnover margin (+13.5) and is second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.54).
Senior wing Alyssa Ustby leads the team and is tied for fourth in the ACC in rebounds (9.5) and steals (2.65) per game. Senior guard Deja Kelly is third in the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 4.0 and is UNC’s leading scorer at 14.25 points per game. Junior Boston College transfer center Maria Gakdeng leads the ACC in field-goal percentage at 70%. Junior Iowa State transfer Lexi Donarski leads the team and is sixth in the ACC in 3-point shooting percentage at 38.5%.
The competition gets tougher this week at the Gulf Coast Showcase in Estero, Fla., where the Tar Heels (with a Massey Ratings rank of No. 20) will face Vermont (3–1, Massey Ratings rank of 171) in the first round at 1:30 Friday. On Saturday, UNC will meet either Kansas State (4–0, 21) or Western Kentucky (4–1, 101) at either 11 a.m. or 5 p.m., and could meet Iowa on Sunday, the final day of the event.
The Hawkeyes were one of two teams ranked in the top four of last week’s poll to lose. Utah dropped from six spots to No. 10 after an 84–77 setback against Baylor, which jumped seven spots to No. 14 on the strength of that victory.
Two other ranked teams fell out of the poll after losses last week. Maryland, previously No. 20, lost 80–48 to UConn (up two spots to No. 6) and Creighton, previously No. 22, lost 65–53 against Green Bay.
It was the first time the Terps have missed the poll in 13 years, a streak of 251 polls.
South Carolina (5–0), which visits UNC on Nov. 30, remained No. 1. The Gamecocks have been in the poll 209 consecutive weeks, second only to the streak of 567 weeks for UConn (3–1), which the Heels face in Uncasville, Conn., on Dec. 10.
UCLA (4–0) moved up one spot to No. 2 for the highest rank in school history after beating Princeton 77–74.
Other ACC teams in the poll are No. 9 Virginia Tech (2–1; unchanged), No. 10 N.C. State (4–0; up four spots), No. 13 Florida State (4–0; down one spot), No. 17 Notre Dame (3–1; down one spot) and No. 20 Louisville (4–0; down one spot).
Oklahoma (5–0), which plays UNC in Charlotte in the Jumpman Invitational on Dec. 19, moved up three spots to No. 22 after beating Alabama State 92–46 and winning at Virginia 82–67.
Voting UNC the highest at No. 8 was Mitchell Northam of WUNC — the only North Carolina-based voter — P.J. Brown of the Arizona Daily Star and Stu Durando of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Voting the Tar Heels the lowest at No. 24 were two voters who didn’t have them on their ballots the week before: Jeff Linder of the Cedar Rapids Gazette and Joe Vozzelli of The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (36) | 3-0 | 900 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA | 4-0 | 837 | 3 |
| 3 | Colorado | 4-0 | 773 | 5 |
| 4 | Stanford | 4-0 | 768 | 6 |
| 5 | Iowa | 4-1 | 678 | 2 |
| 6 | UConn | 3-1 | 672 | 8 |
| 7 | LSU | 4-1 | 642 | 7 |
| 8 | Southern California | 3-0 | 600 | 10 |
| 9 | Virginia Tech | 2-1 | 567 | 9 |
| 10 | Utah | 4-1 | 518 | 4 |
| 10 | N.C. State | 4-0 | 518 | 14 |
| 12 | Texas | 4-0 | 517 | 11 |
| 13 | Florida State | 4-0 | 490 | 12 |
| 14 | Baylor | 3-0 | 457 | 21 |
| 15 | Ohio State | 2-1 | 400 | 13 |
| 16 | Kansas State | 4-0 | 368 | NR |
| 17 | Notre Dame | 3-1 | 343 | 16 |
| 18 | North Carolina | 4-0 | 328 | 17 |
| 19 | Tennesee | 3-1 | 309 | 15 |
| 20 | Louisville | 4-0 | 263 | 19 |
| 21 | Indiana | 3-1 | 259 | 18 |
| 22 | Oklahoma | 5-0 | 146 | 25 |
| 23 | Washington State | 5-0 | 114 | 24 |
| 24 | Ole Miss | 4-1 | 105 | 23 |
| 25 | Mississippi State | 5-0 | 55 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Maryland 48, Creighton 10, Princeton 6, Marquette 6, Michigan 1, UNLV 1, Davidson 1
How voters ranked UNC
Alex Simon, SF Gate — 18
Alexis Cubit, Louisville Courier-Journal — 12
Andy Yamashita, Las Vegas Review Journal — 18
Brenda VanLengen, ESPN — 18
Carl Adamec, Hearst CT Media — 17
Cassandra Negley, Yahoo — 17
Christy Winters Scott NBC — 18
Cora Hall, Knoxville News Sentinel — 23
Danny Davis, Austin American-Statesman — 14
Emily Adams, The Greenville News — 22
Jeff Linder, Cedar Rapids Gazette — 24
Joe Vozzelli, The News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill. — 24
Kelly Gramlich, ACC Network — 24
Kent Youngblood, Minneapolis Star-Tribune — 16
Kevin Tresolini, Delawareonline.com — 20
Kim Adams, Fox Sports — 15
Lindsay Schnell, USA Today — 20
Michael Voepel, ESPN — 20
Marisa Ingemi, San Francisco Chronicle — 17
Mark Story, Lexington Herald-Leader — 17
Meghan McKeown, Big Ten Network — 17
Michael Katz, Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal — 16
Michelle Smith, The Next — 16
Mitchell Northam, WUNC — 8
P.J. Brown, Arizona Daily Star — 8
Payton Titus, The State — 13
Percy Allen, Seattle Times — 9
Rebecca Lobo, ESPN — 13
Reed Darcey, The Advocate in Baton Rouge, La. — 13
Robert Cessna, Bryan-College Station Eagle — 18
Roger Cleaveland, Waterbury Republican-American — 17
Sabreena Merchant, The Athletic — 17
Sam McKewon, Omaha World-Herald — 16
Stefan Krajisnik, Clarion-Leader in Jackson, Miss. — 16
Stu Durando, St. Louis Post-Dispatch — 8
Zack Smith, Waco Tribune — 13
UNC season statistics
| Date | Day/month | Time | Opponent/event (current ranks) | TV/ record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 3 South Carolina in Atlanta | Exhib. |
| November | ||||
| 3 | Monday | W, 90–42 | vs. N.C. Central | 1–0 |
| 6 | Thursday | W, 71–37 | vs. Elon | 2–0 |
| WBCA Challenge Las Vegas | ||||
| 13 | Thursday | L, 78–60 | vs. No. 4 UCLA | 2–1 |
| 15 | Saturday | W, 82–68 | vs. Fairfield | 3–1 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 20 | Thursday | W, 85–50 | at N.C. A&T | 4–1 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 94–48 | vs. UNCG | 5–1 |
| Cancun Challenge Cancun, Mexico | ||||
| 27 | Thursday | W, 83–48 | vs. South Dakota St. | 6–1 |
| 28 | Friday | W, 85–73 | vs. Kansas State | 7–1 |
| 29 | Saturday | W, 80–63 | vs. Columbia | 8–1 |
| December | ACC/SEC Women’s Challenge | |||
| 4 | Thursday | W, 79–64 | at No. 2 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 16 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Charleston Southern | ACCN Extra |
| 29 | Monday | 8 p.m. | at Boston College | ACCN |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | Noon | vs. California | ACCN |
| 4 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | vs. Stanford | ESPN |
| 11 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at No. 20 Notre Dame | ESPN |
| 15 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Miami | ACCN Extra |
| 18 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | at Florida State | The CW |
| 22 | Thursday | 8 p.m. | at Georgia Tech | ACCN |
| 25 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Syracuse | The CW |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | 6 p.m. | at N.C. State | ESPN2 |
| 5 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | vs. Clemson | ACCN |
| 8 | Sunday | 2 p.m. | vs. Wake Forest | ACCN |
| 12 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | vs. SMU | ACCN |
| 15 | Sunday | 1 p.m. | at Duke | ABC |
| 19 | Thursday | 6 p.m. | at Virginia Tech | ACCN |
| 22 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Pittsburgh | ACCN |
| 26 | Thursday | 7 p.m. | at Virginia | ACCN Extra |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | Noon | vs. Duke | ESPN |
| ACC tournament | ||||
| 4–8 | Wed.-Sun | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | ||
| NCAA tournament | ||||
| 20–24 | Fri.-Mon. | First, second rounds | ||
| 27–30 | Fri.-Mon. | Regionals Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, Calif. | ||
| April | ||||
| 3, 5 | Fri., Sun | Final Four Phoenix |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics Communications; graphic via @accwbb
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