There’s a new No. 1 team in town.
The third week of the women’s college basketball season featured some high-level matchups, upsets and star power showcasing their talents. Here’s On3’s updated Top 25 following the third week of competition.
1. UCLA
If you take down the undefeated No. 1 team in the country – the defending national champions – you deserve the No. 1 spot. No questions asked. UCLA beat South Carolina by 15 points on Sunday and looked dominant in doing so. The Bruins are still undefeated with another resume win over Louisville in their season opener. It’s a well-deserved jump for the Bruins who took down their first No. 1-ranked opponent in program history.
2. Notre Dame
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish took down then-No. 3 USC on the road this weekend and now hold the second-best resume win in the country. Not only did they notch the win, but they did so convincingly in a 74-61 result. Hannah Hidalgo scored 24 points, grabbed six boards, dished out eight assists and tallied five steals, and Olivia Miles put together an impressive performance. The Fighting Irish are still without Maddy Westbeld, KK Bransford and Liza Karlen, so imagine them at full strength.
3. South Carolina
South Carolina suffered its first loss since the 2023 Final Four at UCLA this weekend. They fell by 15 points on the road to the now-No. 1 team, so they don’t fall too far in the rankings. South Carolina is still one of the best teams in the country and challenged themselves early and often with their schedule.
4. UConn
The UConn Huskies had a quiet week with just one win over Fairleigh Dickinson. They remained undefeated at 4-0 and Azzi Fudd returned from injury. UConn has what may be the toughest non-conference schedule in the country and it’ll start to ramp up soon. The Huskies have plenty of talent and with Fudd healthy, I think they can compete with anyone in the country.
5. USC
The USC Trojans had a rough performance against Notre Dame on Saturday and with recent news of freshmen Kennedy Smith’s injury, they’ll struggle with their depth. USC was just 1-for-13 from deep and is 27% on the season. That’ll have to change if USC hopes to compete for the top spot in the Big Ten. Despite the loss, the Trojans have challenged themselves early, facing two top-25 teams in the first three weeks of the season and beating one of them at a neutral site.
6. Texas
Texas remains undefeated at 4-0 but I’m still waiting for their marquee matchups before they can rise further in the rankings. Each of their wins over non-P4 teams has been convincing and the Longhorns have one of the most talented rosters in the country.
7. LSU
The LSU Tigers notched two expected wins this week over Troy and Tulane at home. In 5 of their 6 contests this season, Flau’jae Johnson has scored 25-plus points and grabbed 7-plus rebounds. It’ll be more telling when we see LSU against higher-level competition, but we’ll have to wait until December.
8. Maryland
Maryland has kept steady after their resume win over Duke in the first week and a road win over Syracuse. They didn’t play any games this week but rank No. 20 nationally in field goal percentage and No. 3 in 3-point percentage.
9. Kansas State
Kansas State won two expected games this week against Little Rock and Milwaukee at home, but they’ll gear up to face their toughest opponent on Monday. They’ll face Duke in Las Vegas and it’ll be a pretty telling game. Sophomore Zyanna Walker had an impressive week, averaging 14.5 points and 7.5 assists per game.
10. Oklahoma
The Oklahoma Sooners won convincingly in their first pair of road games this week against Wichita State and UNLV. Oklahoma is an exceptionally deep team and it’ll pay off this year. Coupling their returning talent with Raegan Beers, who’s looked impressive in the past few weeks, Oklahoma has had no trouble dominating opponents so far.
11. TCU
It was a fairly quiet week for TCU as they had convincing wins over Incarnate Word and Idaho State. Hailey van Lith, Sedona Prince and Madison Conner are all putting up big numbers so far. They’ll face No. 2 Notre Dame next week, though.
12. Duke
Duke had a successful week, taking down two of the top mid-majors in the country. The Blue Devils beat South Dakota State on the road and Belmont at home. While they struggled against the former, the Blue Devils have really challenged themselves so far this season and were able to pull out the 75-71 win with help from a huge Jadyn Donovan performance. She scored 23 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and added 4 assists and 4 steals.
13. NC State
After two losses to top teams in the country, the NC State Wolfpack’s schedule calmed down a bit as they faced Coastal Carolina at home and won by 21 points. They made 11 3-pointers and freshman Devyn Quigley scored 20 points and grabbed six boards off the bench.
14. West Virginia
West Virginia stayed undefeated this week and now has a 6-0 record, but they don’t have any notable wins so far. The Mountaineers have dominated every opponent they’ve faced, but it’ll be nearly two more months before they play a team that’s currently ranked or eyeing a spot.
15. Ohio State
Ohio State was another team with a quiet week. The Buckeyes faced Ohio and Bowling Green and won each by more than 40 points. Cotie McMahon still hasn’t returned from injury, but the Buckeyes won’t be tested until Dec. 8 against Illinois.
16. Kentucky
Kentucky had a hangover game against Purdue Fort Wayne after their rivalry win against Louisville. It wasn’t pretty and up until the end, they genuinely struggled, but the Wildcats pulled out the win and stayed undefeated.
17. UNC
North Carolina notched a sizable win over Villanova in the Bahamas, holding the Wildcats to just 36 points. In addition, they beat Ball State, a really talented mid-major, on Saturday. It was a good week for the Tar Heels and we’ll see how they fare against a hot Indiana squad on Monday.
18. Louisville
Louisville had a strange week, with one game against Morehead State where they won by 37 points and a matchup against a talented South Florida team on Sunday, where the Cardinals nearly lost. The Cardinals’ two losses have come against top-20 teams and they’re heading into an even tougher stretch in the next few weeks.
19. Ole Miss
Ole Miss had just one game this week and it was a commanding win over Jackson State at home. The sample size is small, as the Rebels have played just four games so far, but Ole Miss has performed well. They’ll definitely need to improve their efficiency from the free throw line (66%), though.
20. Illinois
Beating Oregon State may not be the resume win it was a year ago, but Illinois notched the 19-point win over the Beavers this week and stayed at an undefeated 5-0 record. Their game against Kentucky this week is one to watch as the Fighting Illini face their first team that’s currently ranked in the poll.
21. Alabama
Alabama is another team that’s performed well through a schedule that has yet to challenge them. They won’t face a currently ranked program until January, but they’ve dominated the non-high-major teams they’ve played, with the exception of a close call to a talented Norfolk State team.
22. Iowa
Iowa’s dominance continued this week as they took down Kansas and Washington State. Lucy Olsen has continued to impress and their returners from a season ago are taking huge steps forward. Their game against Tennessee, though, will be their first real test of the season in my eyes.
23. Oregon
Oregon had a solid week, taking down a talented Auburn team at home. It was just a one-possession victory, but it showed that even when Deja Kelly isn’t playing her best basketball, the Ducks can find a way to succeed. Phillipina Kyei notched a double-double and Elisa Mevius impressed off the bench.
24. Iowa State
It was a rough week for Iowa State. They fell on the road to Northern Iowa by double-digits and barely eked out a win over Drake on Sunday. Both teams shot really well against the Cyclones, but those just aren’t games they should lose with the roster they have. We’ll see if they can bounce back against a South Carolina team that’s coming off a loss.
25. Tennessee
New head coach Kim Caldwell and the Tennessee Volunteers are 4-0 to start the season and have commanding wins over all four programs they faced. Talaysia Cooper has had a phenomenal start to the season and the Vols win over a talented Middle Tennessee group stands out.
