The Duke women’s basketball team is at it again as the Lady Blue Devils stand at 19-0, holding a No.3 spot in the Associated Press’ Top 25 poll.
Senior Jasmine Thomas and the rest of the squad appear poised for another deep run into the postseason tournament, standing as the lone remaining unbeaten team in the nation.
Nothing has come easy for Duke. Wins over Top 25 teams No. 6 Texas A&M, No. 7 Xavier, No. 14 Maryland, No. 17 Kentucky and No. 21 Florida State served as tests to the toughness and resiliency of the Lady Blue Devils.
In a heated ACC showdown, the Lady Wolfpack gave Duke everything it could handle.
Facing a 20-point deficit, having never trailed by more than four at halftime, the Lady Blue Devils strung together a comeback. Freshman Chelsea Gray’s layup with 12 seconds remaining capped the comeback, keeping the undefeated season alive.
Duke takes on Atlantic Coast Conference foe Clemson on Wednesday and travels north on Monday for a clash with No. 2 Connecticut.
UConn still a force
The winning streak may be gone, but UConn is not letting that disrupt its run at another national championship.
The Lady Huskies are 18-1 and hold the No. 2 spot in the AP Top 25 behind Baylor.
Since the record 90-game winning streak was snapped at Stanford on Dec. 30, UConn has reeled off six-straight wins, proving that its first loss since April 2008 will not deter its quest at another national title. During their new streak, the Lady Huskies have won by an average of 25 points per contest.
Maya Moore continues to have a strong season, receiving Big East Player of the Week honors for the sixth time this season. The senior averaged 27 points, 10.5 rebounds and three assists per game in wins over North Caronlina and Pittsburgh.
Meanwhile, Bria Hartley was chosen as the Big East Freshman of the Week for the fifth time in her rookie season. The North Babylon, N.Y.-native averaged 12 points, four rebounds and six assists per contest during the week, including a career-high eight assists in UConn’s beat down of the Lady Tarheels.
The Lady Huskies face road tests at Rutgers on Wednesday and Cincinnati on Saturday before hosting No. 3 Duke on Monday in an epic showdown on top title contenders.
Baylor First Again
Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears sit atop the rankings for the fourth consecutive week, ahead of UConn, Duke, Stanford and Tennessee.
The Bears (18-1) handled Big 12 opponents Kansas and Texas Tech to stretch their winning streak to 15 games.
Stanford (16-2) and Tennessee (19-2) also had undefeated weeks. The Cardinals had no problem taking care of UCLA and Southern California, while the Lady Volunteers emerged victorious in two Southeastern Conference road tests at Auburn and South Carolina.
Texas A&M (17-1), Xavier (16-2), West Virginia (19-1), Notre Dame (17-4) and Michigan State (18-2) complete the top 10 teams in the nation. The Fighting Irish and Spartans jumped from 11 and 12, respectively, over UCLA and UNC.
The Bruins (16-2) dropped three spots to No. 11, followed by DePaul (19-2), Oklahoma (15-3) and Maryland (16-3). The Tar Heels (17-3) dropped five spots to No. 15 after falling to Maryland, 88-65, on Sunday.
Miami (FL) finds itself at No. 16, posting an 18-1 record to start off the 2011 season. Kentucky (15-4), Iowa (15-4), Georgetown (15-5) and Georgia (16-3) finish off the top 20.
Stephen Sellner can be reached at [email protected].
