The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Gamecocks stay No. 1 after winning SEC Tournament
South Carolina stands alone with the second-longest streak atop The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll as the Gamecocks remained No. 1 for a 37th consecutive week.
The Gamecocks (32-0) beat Tennessee 74-58 Sunday night for the SEC championship to remain undefeated heading into the NCAA Tournament. Zia Cooke scored 24 points and tournament MVP Aliyah Boston added 18 points for the Gamecocks.
“The mentality we have to win all over the court,” Cooke said. “This means a lot, but we’re not done yet.”
When it was over, South Carolina players came out to hug each other as the large group of fans — the arena is about 90 minutes from the Gamecocks’ campus — cheered the latest success.
Boston was named the tournament MVP. She said it’s been a total team effort to get this, from the most experienced starter to the freshmen who don’t see the court as much. “Everyone is buying into the process,” Boston said.
South Carolina, which received all 28 first-place votes from a national media panel Monday, broke a tie with Louisiana Tech for most consecutive weeks at No. 1. The defending national champions now trail only Uconn’s run of 51 straight weeks atop the Top 25.
With the final poll of the season set to come out next week, the Gamecocks are poised to go wire-to-wire at No. 1 this year ahead of the NCAA Tournament.
Iowa moved up five spots to No. 2 after running through the Big Ten Tournament. The Hawkeyes routed Ohio State by 33 points in the title game Sunday behind another strong effort from Caitlin Clark, who had the third triple-double in conference tournament history.
It is the Hawkeyes’ best ranking since they had an eight-week run at No. 2 in 1994.
Indiana dropped one place to third with Virginia Tech moving up four places to No. 4. The Hokies, who won the ACC Tournament for the first time, have their highest ranking ever.
Stanford and Maryland were the next two. Uconn moved up to seventh with Utah and LSU next. The Utes and Tigers each dropped five spots after losing in their conference tournaments.
Villanova rounded out the top 10. It’s the Wildcats best ranking ever and it came as they prepared to face Uconn for the Big East title.
Tennessee jumped back into the poll at No. 24. South Florida and Iowa State dropped out of the Top 25.
Washington State made history becoming the first seven-seed to win the Pac-12 Tournament after the Cougars beat California, Utah, Colorado and UCLA. The 20th-ranked Cougars entered the Top 25 for only the second time in school history after a one-week stint at No. 25 in 2021.
The Pac-12 has six teams in the Top 25 with Washington State jumping in this week. The Big Ten is next with five teams and the ACC has four. The SEC has three, with the Big East and Big 12 each having two.