Huskies fall to No. 10 in Top 25 poll ahead tourney final
The Uconn women’s basketball team was bumped down a spot to No. 10 in the AP Top 25 poll in Week 19 after reaching its 20th consecutive conference championship game in the Big East Tournament.
The Huskies routed Marquette 58-29 in the tournament semifinal Sunday were set to face 6-seed Georgetown for the Big East title at Mohegan Sun Arena on Monday. Creighton, ranked No. 21 last week, fell out of the poll without receiving any votes after it was upset 55-46 by the Hoyas as the 2-seed in its semifinal.
The Huskies were dropped from No. 9 after Notre Dame, previously ranked 14th, knocked off NC State to win the ACC tournament title. Upsets throughout Power 5 conference tournaments caused other shakeups in the top 10. There was another change at No. 2 as Iowa took over the second slot behind undefeated South Carolina after winning a third consecutive Big Ten title. Ohio State, last week’s No. 2, made an early exit from the tournament with a loss to Maryland in the quarterfinals. USC vaulted from No. 5 to No. 3 after winning the Pac-12 championship over No. 4 Stanford.
Marquette had not been held under 50 points all season prior to Uconn’s semifinal victory on Sunday, and Paige Bueckers nearly matched that single-handedly with 27 points on 68.7% shooting. Star forward Aaliyah Edwards was out after breaking her nose in an 86-53 win over Providence in the semifinal Saturday, so Bueckers took charge on the boards and finished with 12 rebounds for a double-double. Her four blocks and three steals were also teamhighs.
How Uconn reporter Emily Adams voted in Week 19 AP Top 25
1. South Carolina
2. USC
3. Ohio State
4. Texas
5. Iowa
6. Stanford
7. UCLA
8. LSU
9. Uconn
10. Notre Dame
11. Virginia Tech
12. Oregon State
13. NC State
14. Indiana
15. Gonzaga
16. Colordao
17. Kansas State
18. Oklahoma
19. Utah
20. Baylor
21. Syracuse
22. Louisville
23. West Virginia
24. Fairfield
25. Jackson State