Women's college basketball power rankings: Iowa up to No. 3 after win over Ohio State
Caitlin Clark did what she does and made more history on Sunday afternoon. At the end of the second quarter, the Iowa senior knocked down a pair of free throws to pass Pete Maravich in the record books and become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in men’s and women’s college basketball. She entered the showdown vs. No. 2 Ohio State needing 18 points to do it, and ended up tallying 35 points, nine assists and six rebounds in the 93-83 win.
With the regular season officially over, Clark now has a grand total of 3,685 career points, with more games to go in the upcoming Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments.
While Clark has been one of the most inspiring stories of the season, the real question is, can anybody beat South Carolina? The top-ranked Gamecocks capped a perfect 29-0 regular season on Sunday with a 76-68 win over Tennessee. Five players scored 13 points or more, with Kamilla Cardoso leading the way with 18 points and 14 rebounds to mark the program's 57th straight win at home.
Speaking of the SEC, LSU is riding an eight-game winning streak following a 77-56 win over Kentucky on Sunday. Angel Reese, who was accompanied by her mom and Shaquille O’Neal on Senior Day, had 22 points and 14 rebounds, while Flau’Jae Johnson had 19 points, four steals and four assists. A potential SEC championship matchup between the Tigers and Gamecocks is the clash everybody is asking for ahead of the conference tournament.
Elsewhere, other top teams are finding their stride as March begins. Stanford beat No. 11 Oregon State on the road last week behind Cameron Brink’s 25 points and career-high 23 rebounds, UConn is riding a six-game winning streak, and UCLA has won five in a row.
Meanwhile, Ohio State, Virginia Tech and Texas all dropped road games in the last week, but are still certainly in the mix to be dangerous as the postseason tournaments begin.
Here are this week’s women’s college basketball power rankings:
1. South Carolina
Record: 29-0, 16-0
Weekly results: Defeated Arkansas 98-61; defeated Tennessee, 76-68
2. LSU
Record: 26-4, 13-3
Weekly results: Defeated Georgia, 80-54; defeated Kentucky, 77-56
3. Iowa
Record: 26-4, 15-3
Weekly results: Defeated Minnesota, 108-60; defeated Ohio State, 93-83
4. Ohio State
Record: 25-4, 16-2
Weekly results: Defeated Michigan, 67-51; lost to Iowa, 93-83
5. Texas
Record: 27-4, 14-4
Weekly results: Lost to Oklahoma, 71-70; defeated BYU, 71-46
6. USC
Record: 23-5, 13-5
Weekly results: Defeated Arizona, 95-93; defeated Arizona State, 70-55
7. Stanford
Record: 26-4, 15-3
Weekly results: Defeated Oregon State, 67-63; defeated Oregon, 76-56
8. UConn
Record: 26-5, 18-0
Weekly results: Defeated Villanova, 67-46; defeated Providence, 65-42
9. UCLA
Record: 24-5, 13-5
Weekly results: Defeated Colorado, 53-45; defeated Arizona State, 70-41; defeated Arizona, 61-41
10. Virginia Tech
Record: 23-6, 14-4
Weekly results: Lost to Notre Dame, 71-58; lost to Virginia, 80-75
Laken Litman covers college football, college basketball and soccer for FOX Sports. She previously wrote for Sports Illustrated, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star. She is the author of "Strong Like a Woman," published in spring 2022 to mark the 50th anniversary of Title IX. Follow her on Twitter @LakenLitman.