By R.L. Bynum
After opening the season with a pair of home victories, North Carolina moved up one spot to No. 15 in the first regular-season AP Top 25 women’s basketball poll of the season heading into two games this week in Greensboro.
It’s the Tar Heels’ highest ranking since it was No. 14 on Feb. 6, 2023.
The Tar Heels, who beat Charleston Southern 83–53 and UNCW 77–50, visit North Carolina A&T at 7 p.m. Tuesday (FloSports) and take on No. 2 UConn (2–0) at the First Horizon Coliseum at the Greensboro Coliseum Complex at 6 p.m. Friday (ESPN2).
It will be the home opener for the Aggies (0–2), who lost 77–64 on Monday at SMU and 61–60 on Thursday at Rice. Senior 5–9 guard Jordyn Dorsey leads the team in scoring at 24.5 points per game. 5–11 sophomore forward Darrionna Howard averages 11 points and 11 rebounds, and 5–10 fifth-year guard Maleia Bracone averages 13 points per game.
The Huskies held the No. 2 spot behind No. 1 South Carolina (2–0) after beating Boston University 86–32 and South Florida 86–49. Four UConn players average double-figure points: 6–0 redshirt senior guard Paige Bueckers (17.5), 6–2 freshman forward Sarah Strong (15.0), 5–10 sophomore guard Ashlynn Shade (12.5) and 6–5 redshirt freshman center Jana El Alfy (11.5).
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Other ACC teams in the Top 25 are No. 6 Notre Dame (2–0; ranking unchanged), No. 13 N.C. State (down four spots and 1–1 after losing 71–57 to the Gamecocks in Charlotte on Sunday), No. 16 Duke (down five spots and 2–1 after losing 85–80 at Maryland on Sunday), No. 18 Louisville (down one spots and 1–1 after losing 66–59 to UCLA) and Stanford (3–0), which debuted at No. 24.
Florida State (1–1) went from No. 19 to out of the poll after Illinois upset the Noles 83–74.
Former UNC forward Teonni Key’s Kentucky team (2–0) moved up two spots to No. 20 and Kennedy Todd-Williams’ Ole Miss team (1–1 after a 68–66 loss in Paris to USC) is up one spot to No. 19. Deja Kelly’s Oregon team (3–0) debuted in the poll at No. 25 after upsetting Baylor 76–74 on Sunday.
Two teams that fell out of the poll were Creighton (0–1), which was No. 21, after a 76–71 loss to South Dakota State and Indiana (1–1), which was No. 25 but lost 72–68 at home home overtime loss to Harvard. The Crimson is coached by former UNC assistant coach Carrie Moore.
AP Top 25
Others receiving votes: Iowa 60, TCU 55, Florida State 42, Michigan 36, Utah 32, Michigan State 18, Vanderbilt 13, Fairfield 11, South Dakota State 9, Mississippi State 7, Arizona 6, Creighton 5, Tennessee 3, Middle Tennessee 3, Harvard 3, Indiana 3 and Miami 2. Dropped from rankings: Florida State 19, Creighton 21 and Indiana 25.
| Date | Day/month | Scores | Opponent/event (current ranks) | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October | ||||
| 30 | Thursday | L, 91–82 | No. 4 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. 3 Texas | 8–2 |
| ——————————— | ||||
| 7 | Sunday | W, 82–40 | vs. Boston Univ. | 9–2 |
| 14 | Sunday | L, 76–66, OT | vs. No. 13 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 No. 22 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 | W, 53–44 | vs. Clemson | 19–5, 8–3 |
| 8 | Sunday | W, 84–56 | vs. Wake Forest | 20–5, 9–3 |
| 12 | Thursday | W, 94–42 | vs. SMU | 21–5, 10–3 |
| 15 | Sunday | L, 72–68 | at No. 8 Duke | 21–6, 10–4 |
| 19 | Thursday | W, 66–63, OT | at Virginia Tech | 22–6, 11–4 |
| 22 | Sunday | W, 78–50 | vs. Pittsburgh | 23–6, 12–4 |
| 26 | Thursday | W, 82–70 | at Virginia | 24–6, 13–4 |
| March | ||||
| 1 | Sunday | W, 72–69 | vs. No. 8 Duke | 25–6, 14–4 |
| ACC tournament | Gas South Arena, Duluth, Ga. | |||
| 6 | Friday | W, 85–68 | Quarterfinal vs. Va. Tech | 26–6 |
| 7 | Saturday | L, 65–57 | Semifinal vs. No. 13 Louisville | 26–7 |
| NCAA tournament Fort Worth 1 Regional | ||||
| 21 | Friday | W, 82–51 | First round in Chapel Hill: vs. Western Illinois | 27–7 |
| 23 | Sunday | W, 74–66 | Second round in Chapel Hill: No. 17 Maryland | 28–7 |
| 27 | Friday | L, 63–52 | Sweet 16 in Fort Worth, Texas: vs. No. 1 UConn | 28–8 |
Photo courtesy of UNC Athletics
