TCU women enter AP Top 25 at No. 19; South Carolina remains No. 1

On November 19, 2024By Littum

November 18, 2024, 12:27 PM ET

No. 19 TCU entered The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll with its best ranking in 16 years Monday, while the first 12 teams, led by No. 1 South Carolina, were unchanged.

The Horned Frogs joined the rankings after topping then-No.13 NC State on Sunday. It was the team’s first ranked win since 2021 and win over a top 15 opponent in six seasons. TCU has its best finish in the poll since the school was also 19th in 2008.

“It means a lot as we build this program,” TCU coach Mark Campbell said of being ranked. “We’ve come a long way. I inherited a program that was 1-17 (in the conference) and rock bottom. Last year’s group laid an incredible foundation to jump into this season.”

The Gamecocks remained the unanimous No. 1 team, receiving all 31 first-place votes from a national media panel. They led their two opponents last week by an average of 36.5 points. South Carolina visits No. 5 UCLA on Sunday.

Associated Press Women’s Top 25

First place votes in brackets

Team	Rec.
1. South Carolina (31)	4-0
2. UConn	3-0
3. Southern Cal	4-0
4. Texas	3-0
5. UCLA	4-0
6. Notre Dame	4-0
7. LSU	4-0
8. Iowa State	4-0
9. Oklahoma	3-0
10. Kansas State	3-0
11. Maryland	5-0
12. Ohio State	3-0
13. West Virginia	4-0
14. Duke	4-1
15. Kentucky	4-0
16. North Carolina	3-1
17. Miss Ole	2-1
18. Baylor	3-1
19. TCU	4-0
20. NC State	2-2
21. Nebraska	4-0
22. Illinois	3-0
23. Oregon	4-0
24. Alabama	6-0
25. Louisville	2-2

No. 2 UConn, No. 3 USC and No. 4 Texas followed South Carolina. No. 6 Notre Dame heads west to play the Trojans in a top-10 matchup Saturday. LSU, Iowa State, Oklahoma and Kansas State round out the top 10.

Stanford fell out of the rankings after losing at Indiana on Sunday.

CLIMBING

West Virginia moved up to No. 13 for its highest ranking since 2018, when the Mountaineers were No. 12. After a win over Texas A&M, the Mountaineers have won 32 straight non-conference home games dating to the 2018-19 season. They could potentially face Texas in the Gulf Coast Showcase over Thanksgiving weekend.

FALLING

NC State has had a challenging start to its season, playing both No. 1 South Carolina and TCU on the road. The Wolfpack, who reached the Final Four last season, fell to No. 20 in the poll after the loss to the Horned Frogs. Coach Wes Moore’s squad could face LSU in the Bahamas during Thanksgiving week.

RECORD

UConn coach Geno Auriemma will get his first chance to become the all-time wins leader on Wednesday when the Huskies host Fairleigh Dickinson. UConn brings many of its alumni back to the game. Auriemma has 1,216 career Hall of Fame wins and is tied with retired Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer.

GAME OF THE WEEK

All eyes are on Los Angeles this weekend: No. 6 Notre Dame at No. 3 USC on Saturday and No. 1 South Carolina at No. 5 UCLA on Sunday. All four teams have looked solid in their wins thus far, going a combined 16-0.