UConn holds court at No. 1 in Hoopfeed poll, Washington enters top ten and Cal appears at No. 25
Undefeated Connecticut solidified its top ranking in this week’s Hoopfeed poll with an 82-63 win over Ohio State Monday. Several other teams in top ten held strong in their position as well. The next six squads did not budge from their place: Notre Dame, Baylor, Maryland, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Florida State.
Louisville moved up a spot to No 8, the result of three wins last week including a dominating 83-30 performance over South Dakota State, the No. 8 team in the current CollegeInsider.com Mid-major Poll. The Jackrabbits, a team that advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, were not at full strength as leading scorer Macy Miller did not play. The team announced before the game that the junior will miss the rest of the season due to a leg injury sustained in a Dec. 9 game against Green Bay. She will apply for a medical redshirt to obtain an extra year of eligibility.
Washington entered the top ten for the first time at No. 9. The Huskies have two of the most prolific performers in the nation. Senior guard Kelsey Plum leads the nation in scoring at 30.3 points per game and became the Pac-12’s all-time leading scorer on Dec. 11. Her teammate, center Chantel Osahor, is the country’s leading rebounder at 14.2 per contest. Osahor missed last week’s game against Savannah State due to a concussion. The next test for Washington is a game against BYU on Dec. 22.
UCLA fell out of the top ten to No. 11 after a 66-57 loss to No. 6 South Carolina on Sunday.
Stanford stumbled the hardest in the poll, falling four spots to No. 14. The Cardinal suffered a loss at unranked Tennessee Sunday. The Lady Vols halted Stanford’s six-game winning streak with tenacious defense. Stanford continues its road trip with a stop in the nation’s capital at George Washington on Dec. 21.
No. 20 Virginia Tech continued to impress under new head coach Kenny Brooks. The undefeated Hokies earned a 92-87 road victory at Auburn last week, moving to 11-0. Virginia Tech moved up three places in the poll.
California, another undefeated team, came into the poll this week at No. 25. The Bears are off to the best start in program history led by sophomore center Kristine Anigwe. She ranks fourth in the nation in scoring at 23.0 points per game. The Bears are on a road trip in Las Vegas for a tournament at South Point Arena. Cal defeated Southern Miss, 71-51, on Monday and face No. 19 Oklahoma tonight, the first contest against a ranked opponent for the Bears this season.
Other teams that received votes: DePaul, Oregon State, Oklahoma State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Ole Miss, Utah
Dropped out: DePaul
| Rank | School | Record | First Place Votes | Previous |
| 1 | Connecticut | 10-0 | 13 | 1 |
| 2 | Notre Dame | 11-1 | 2 | |
| 3 | Baylor | 11-1 | 3 | |
| 4 | Maryland | 11-0 | 4 | |
| 5 | Mississippi State | 12-0 | 5 | |
| 6 | South Carolina | 9-1 | 6 | |
| 7 | Florida State | 11-1 | 7 | |
| 8 | Louisville | 11-2 | 9 | |
| 9 | Washington | 11-1 | 11 | |
| 10 | UCLA | 9-2 | 8 | |
| 11 | Miami | 11-1 | 12 | |
| 12 | Ohio State | 9-4 | 13 | |
| 13 | West Virginia | 11-0 | 14 | |
| 14 | Stanford | 8-2 | 10 | |
| 15 | Colorado | 10-0 | 15 | |
| 16 | Duke | 10-1 | 17 | |
| 17 | Texas | 5-4 | 18 | |
| 18 | Kentucky | 8-3 | 19 | |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 8-2 | 20 | |
| 20 | Virginia Tech | 11-0 | 23 | |
| 21 | Syracuse | 9-3 | 21 | |
| 22 | Arizona State | 8-2 | 24 | |
| 23 | South Florida | 9-1 | 22 | |
| 24 | Kansas State | 10-1 | 25 | |
| 25 | California | 10-0 | NR |
Voting Panel
- Yvonne Sanchez
- Viet Nguyen
- Joan Bonvicini
- Lisa Bodine
- Kevin Danna
- Kristopher Gardner
- Brenda VanLengen
- Cindy Brunson
- Michael Roberson
- Mel Greenberg
- Bobbie Kelsey Grayson
- Ben Parker
- Cheryl Coward
