By R.L. Bynum
After a surprising one-week absence from the AP Top 25 women’s poll, North Carolina returned at No. 20 this week after two big ACC victories and is ESPN’s Team of the Week.
It’s the fourth week in the top 20 this season for Carolina, which was No. 16 in the preseason poll.
The Tar Heels (11–4, 3–0 ACC) beat then-No. 25 Syracuse 75–51 (which fell out of the poll) on Thursday before knocking off then-No. 16 Notre Dame (which dropped to No. 18) 61–57 for UNC’s first program victory in South Bend, Ind.
Sophomore Indya Nivar led the way against the Irish with 16 points, a career-high five steals and two assists, while Lexi Donarski added 13 points, three 3-pointers, six rebounds and two steals.
UNC faces another tough road test at 6 p.m. Thursday when they face No. 21 Florida State (12–4, 3–1), which rebounded from an 88–80 Thursday loss to N.C. State by beating Clemson 78–72.
After a 63–62 loss at Virginia Tech on Sunday for its first loss, N.C. State (14–1, 2–1), fell three spots to No. 6 while the Hokies (12–2, 3–0) moved up two spots to No. 11.
The other ranked ACC team is No. 15 Louisville (13–2, 2–0; up two spots), which beat Duke 61–44.
Other teams ranked in last week’s poll to lose were:
–Utah (11–4), which dropped four spots to No. 19 after a 71–70 overtime loss to Arizona.
–Marquette (13–2), which dropped four spots to No. 23 after a 57–56 loss to St. John’s.
–Creighton (11–3), which dropped a spot to No. 22 after a 94–50 loss to UConn
–TCU (14–2), previously No. 23, which fell out of the poll after losses to Baylor and Oklahoma State.
–West Virginia (13–1), which stayed at No. 24after a 70–49 loss to Texas.
AP Top 25
| Rank | Team (1st-place votes) | Record | Poll points | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (34) | 14-0 | 874 | 1 |
| 2 | UCLA (1) | 14-0 | 841 | 2 |
| 3 | Iowa | 15-1 | 760 | 4 |
| 4 | Baylor | 14-0 | 738 | 6 |
| 5 | Colorado | 13-1 | 705 | 5 |
| 6 | N.C. State | 14-1 | 671 | 3 |
| 7 | LSU | 15-1 | 668 | 7 |
| 8 | Stanford | 14-1 | 637 | 8 |
| 9 | Southern Cal | 12-1 | 593 | 9 |
| 10 | Texas | 15-1 | 589 | 10 |
| 11 | Virginia Tech | 12-2 | 542 | 9 |
| 12 | Kansas State | 15-1 | 513 | 11 |
| 13 | UConn | 12-3 | 487 | 12 |
| 14 | Indiana | 13-1 | 428 | 14 |
| 15 | Louisville | 13-2 | 365 | 17 |
| 16 | Gonzaga | 14-2 | 319 | 18 |
| 17 | Ohio State | 11-3 | 270 | 20 |
| 18 | Notre Dame | 10-3 | 265 | 16 |
| 19 | Utah | 11-4 | 264 | 15 |
| 20 | North Carolina | 11-4 | 218 | 20 |
| 21 | Florida State | 12-4 | 162 | 22 |
| 22 | Creighton | 11-3 | 99 | 21 |
| 23 | Marquette | 13-2 | 96 | 19 |
| 24 | West Virginia | 13-1 | 70 | 24 |
| 25 | UNLV | 12-1 | 68 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Vanderbilt 38, Michigan St. 23, Oregon St. 15, Syracuse 15, TCU 11, Arizona 8, California 6, Princeton 4, Nebraska 3, Davidson 3, Maryland 2, Fairfield 2, Miami 1, Texas A&M 1, Washington 1.
| Team | League | Overall | NET* |
|---|---|---|---|
| No. 6 Louisville | 11–0 | 21–3 | 8 |
| No. 17 Duke | 11–0 | 16–6 | 14 |
| Syracuse | 8–3 | 18–4 | 39 |
| Virginia Tech | 8–3 | 18–5 | 42 |
| N.C. State | 8–3 | 15–7 | 28 |
| No. 25 North Carolina | 7–3 | 18–5 | 21 |
| Virginia | 7–4 | 15–7 | 38 |
| Clemson | 7–4 | 16–7 | 37 |
| Notre Dame | 6–5 | 14–8 | 31 |
| Georgia Tech | 5–6 | 10–13 | 93 |
| Stanford | 4–5 | 15–7 | 36 |
| California | 4–6 | 13–10 | 53 |
| Miami | 4–7 | 12–10 | 48 |
| Florida State | 2–8 | 7–15 | 110 |
| Wake Forest | 2–9 | 12–11 | 122 |
| SMU | 1–9 | 8–14 | 179 |
| Pittsburgh | 1–9 | 8–15 | 260 |
| Boston College | 0–11 | 4–20 | 247 |
* — Through Monday games
Sunday’s results
No. 17 Duke 80, Wake Forest 44
No. 6 Louisville 71, California 59
Virginia Tech 76, Virginia 64
Syracuse 65, Miami 60
Georgia Tech 70, Boston College 60
Notre Dame 78, Stanford 66
Clemson 77, Florida State 58
Monday’s game
No. 25 North Carolina 61, N.C. State 59
Thursday’s games
Syracuse at Boston College, 6 p.m.
Stanford at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m., ACCN Extra
Clemson at No. 25 North Carolina, 6 p.m., ACC Network
No. 17 Duke at No. 6 Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Virginia Tech at Notre Dame, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Virginia, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
California at Georgia Tech, 7 p.m., ACCN Extra
Wake Forest at SMU, 7:30, ACCN Extra
Florida State at N.C. State, 8 p.m., ACC Network
Sunday’s games
No. 6 Louisville at Syracuse, noon, ACCN Extra
N.C. State at Virginia Tech, noon, ACC Network
California at Pittsburgh, 1 p.m. ACCN Extra
No. 25 North Carolina at Wake Forest, 2 p.m., ACC Network
SMU at No. 17 Duke, 2 p.m. The CW
Notre Dame at Virginia, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Miami at Florida State, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Stanford at Georgia Tech, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
Boston College at Clemson, 2 p.m., ACCN Extra
| 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. 2 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. 4 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 78 Louisville | 9–3, 0–1 ACC |
| 17 | Wednesday | W, 84–34 | vs. UNCW | 10–3 |
| 21 | Sunday | W, 93–74 | vs. Charleston Southern | 11–3 |
| 29 | Monday | W, 90–38 | at Boston College | 12–3, 1–1 ACC |
| January | ||||
| 1 | Thursday | W, 71–55 | vs. California | 13–3, 2–1 |
| 4 | Sunday | L, 77–71, OT | vs. Stanford | 13–4, 2–2 |
| 11 | Sunday | L, 73–50 | at Notre Dame | 13–5, 2–3 |
| 15 | Thursday | W, 73–62 | vs. Miami | 14–5, 3–3 |
| 18 | Sunday | W, 82–55 | at Florida State | 15–5, 4–3 |
| 22 | Thursday | W, 54–46 | at Georgia Tech | 16–5, 5–3 |
| 25 | Sunday | W, 77–71, OT | vs. Syracuse | 17–5, 6–3 |
| February | ||||
| 2 | Monday | W, 61–59 | at N.C. State | 18–5, 7–3 |
| 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 No. 20 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. No. 20 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
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