Women’s college basketball rankings: Iowa reenters top 10, Auriemma makes history

Iowa has reentered the top 10 of the AP Top 25 after a stellar performance from Ava Heiden led the Hawkeyes to a 62-44 victory over then-No. 6 Michigan. Jan Jensen’s team is finishing the regular season strong and is now up to No. 2 and tied with Michigan in the Big Ten standings.

Heiden registered her eighth career double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds, along with two blocks and two steals. The sophomore was a key part of Iowa’s defense, holding the now-No. 8 Wolverines to their lowest point total of the season.

Another big shake-up in the top 10 came from unranked Virginia upsetting then-No. 8 Louisville 74-72 in Kentucky. Meanwhile, then-No. 9 Duke had its 17-game winning streak snapped in a 53-51 loss against Clemson. Both winners are bubble teams, so this past weekend could have been a significant one when it comes to NCAA Tournament implications.

The top five did remain steady, although No. 5 Vanderbilt barely snuck away with an 81-79 win against Kentucky on Sunday. UConn is once again the unanimous No. 1, but this week is a little more special. The program has now appeared in the AP Top 25 poll a total of 655 times under Geno Auriemma, which passed former Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer’s record during her 41-year Hall of Fame career.

Tennessee is another historic women’s basketball program, but the team has been struggling as of late. A 100-93 loss to Oklahoma became their fourth consecutive loss and now the Lady Vols have fallen out of the rankings.

AP Women’s Basketball Top 25

Others receiving votes: Colorado 23, Fairfield 18, Tennessee 12, Columbia 10, Rhode Island 7, N Dakota St 7, Virginia 6, Villanova 6, Southern Cal 5, Rice 4, Iowa St. 3, Syracuse 2, Illinois 2, Notre Dame 1, Washington 1, NC State 1.