Louisville, NC State survive upset bids to remain atop poll

Louisville and North Carolina State both survived upset bids by unranked teams to remain the top two teams in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll released Monday.

The No. 1 Cardinals needed a late basket from Dana Evans to stave off Wake Forest on Sunday while the second-ranked Wolfpack had to rally from a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat Virginia Tech a few hours later.

Louisville received 22 of the 30 first-place votes from a national media panel while N.C. State garnered five. The two teams will meet next Monday in a makeup of their game postponed because of COVID-19 issues.

N.C. State was playing its first game since Jan. 3 after the team was paused because of the coronavirus. The Wolfpack were still missing their star Elissa Cunane because of the virus. They are hoping to have her back by the beginning of February.