Iowa ranked No. 3 in post-Christmas USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll
The Iowa Hawkeyes (12-1, 1-0 Big Ten) only played the lone game last week. It was a 98-69 romp over Loyola Chicago.
Reigning National Player of the Year and senior star guard Caitlin Clark went off against the Ramblers to the tune of her 13th career triple-double.
The West Des Moines product finished with 35 points on 12-of-21 field goal shooting and 4-of-12 shooting from 3-point range. Clark added a career-high 17 rebounds and 10 assists to secure her second triple-double this season. Earlier this year, Clark joined Oregon‘s Sabrina Ionescu as the only women’s college basketball players to record triple-doubles in four different seasons.
Three more Hawkeyes finished in double figures against the Ramblers. Sophomore forward Hannah Stuelke finished with 20 points and eight rebounds, graduate guard Kate Martin added 19 points on 6-of-11 shooting and junior guard Sydney Affolter chipped in with 10 points.
Though LMU trailed just 51-46 at the break, the Hawkeyes busted it wide open by outscoring the Ramblers 47-23 after halftime.
Now, Iowa can turn its attention to an improved Minnesota (11-1, 1-0 Big Ten) squad as Big Ten play begins in earnest. The Gophers have already matched their wins total from last season.
After dispatching of Loyola Chicago in impressive fashion, Iowa stayed put at No. 3 in the latest USA TODAY Sports Women’s College Basketball Coaches Poll.
With the Christmas holiday limiting last week’s slate, it turns out that there really wasn’t much movement in the rankings at all. The top 22 teams in the rankings remain unchanged.
Miami (Fla.) did jump up one spot to No. 23, while Washington slid one slot to No. 24. Unbeaten TCU jumped into the rankings at No. 25, while North Carolina dropped out.
The Hawkeyes also stayed put in the latest AP Top 25 Women’s College Basketball Poll at No. 4.
Here’s a look at the full post-Christmas USA TODAY Sports Women’s College Basketball Coaches Poll:
Rank | Team | Record | Points | Change |
1 | South Carolina | 11-0 | 800 (32) | — |
2 | UCLA | 11-0 | 767 | — |
3 | Iowa | 12-1 | 712 | — |
4 | North Carolina State | 12-0 | 708 | — |
5 | 10-0 | 666 | — | |
6 | 12-1 | 610 | — | |
7 | 12-0 | 605 | — | |
8 | 10-1 | 575 | — | |
9 | Stanford | 10-1 | 544 | — |
10 | Utah | 10-2 | 496 | — |
11 | Baylor | 11-0 | 477 | — |
12 | 9-1 | 442 | — | |
13 | 10-2 | 406 | — | |
14 | Virginia Tech | 9-2 | 387 | — |
15 | Indiana | 10-1 | 356 | — |
16 | Kansas State | 12-1 | 347 | — |
17 | UConn | 9-3 | 299 | — |
18 | Marquette | 12-0 | 281 | — |
19 | Louisville | 11-2 | 221 | — |
20 | Gonzaga | 13-2 | 186 | — |
21 | Creighton | 9-2 | 136 | — |
22 | Florida State | 9-3 | 112 | — |
23 | Miami (Fla.) | 9-1 | 77 | +1 |
24 | Washington | 11-1 | 39 | -1 |
25 | TCU | 13-0 | 38 | +1 |
Schools Dropped Out:
No. 25 North Carolina
Others receiving votes: North Carolina, 32; West Virginia, 27; Syracuse, 18; Maryland, 8; Duke, 6; Princeton, 4; Vanderbilt, 3; Seton Hall, 3; Davidson, 3; VCU, 2; UNLV, 2; Cleveland State, 2; Oregon State, 1; Middle Tennessee, 1; Michigan, 1.
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