530 STARTS RIGHT NOW. GOOD EVENING. THANKS FOR JOINING US. CAITLIN CLARKE BREAKS ANOTHER RECORD AND CONTINUES ADDING TO HER LEGENDARY RESUME. OUR JEFF DUBROF IS IN WITH US IN STUDIO AND JEFF, SHE’S OFFICIALLY ALL ALONE AT THE TOP. YEAH, KAYLA COULDN’T HAVE PUT IT BETTER MYSELF. IT WASN’T A LOGO THREE WASN’T A REVERSE LAYUP. IT WAS A TECHNICAL FREE THROW THAT ALLOWED CAITLIN CLARK TO BECOME THE ALL TIME LEADING SCORER IN DIVISION ONE COLLEGE BASKETBALL HISTORY. SHE HAD ALREADY PASSED KELSEY PLUM, THEN PASSED LYNETTE WOODARD, AND TODAY IT WAS ON A PAIR OF FREE THROWS, THE SECOND OF WHICH THAT HAD HER PASSING THE GREAT PISTOL PETE. PETE MARAVICH. THE SHOT BY OUR SHANNON EARHART AS SHE IS NOW THE ALL TIME LEADING SCORER IN DIVISION ONE COLLEGE BASKETBALL HISTORY. THAT’S MEN’S AND WOMEN’S. IT COMES, LIKE I SAID, ON THE SECOND OF THE TWO FREE THROWS, CLARK SCORED 35 POINTS IN THE GAME. THERE IS NO ONE IN FRONT OF HER ANYMORE. SHE IS AT THE TOP OF THE MOUNTAIN. IT’S REALLY LIKE CRAZY TO THINK ABOUT. LIKE, HONESTLY, IF YOU WOULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT BEFORE MY COLLEGE CAREER STARTED, I WOULD HAVE LAUGHED IN YOUR FACE AND BEEN LIKE, YOU KNOW, YOU’RE INSANE. AND LIKE, I’VE ALWAYS BEEN ABLE TO SCORE THE BALL, BUT I DON’T THINK PEOPLE REALLY UNDERSTAND HOW MANY AMAZING PLAYERS HAVE COME BEFORE ME AND LIKE, BEEN ABLE TO SCORE THE BALL AND DO IT AT SUCH A HIGH RATE AND DO IT FOR TEAMS THAT ARE REALLY, REALLY GOOD AND JUST TO BE IN THE SAME REALM OF ALL THESE PLAYERS THAT HAVE BEEN SO SUCCESSFUL, WHAT WHETHER IT’S PETE OR WHETHER IT’S KELSEY PLUM OR LYNETTE WOODARD, LIKE ALL THESE PEOPLE HAVE JUST GIVEN SO MUCH TO THE GAME. SO, UM, YOU KNOW, HOPEFULLY
Iowa women move back into top 3 in latest AP poll
Updated: 11:25 AM CST Mar 4, 2024
Stanford and Iowa jumped up behind top-ranked South Carolina in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll as the top 10 got a shuffle on the eve of conference tournaments and Fairfield cracked the rankings for the first time in school history.Stanford moved back up to No. 2 after a weekend sweep of Oregon State and Oregon. Iowa knocked off then-No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday behind Caitlin Clark, who became the NCAA Division I scoring leader during the game. The Big Ten champion Buckeyes fell to fourth.While Iowa has been in the Top 25 all season, Fairfield made its first appearance, coming in at No. 25. The Stags (26-1) have won 24 straight games and are the only team in the country besides undefeated South Carolina with one or fewer losses."Its a huge moment. This place is special," Fairfield coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said. "One of the major reasons I came here is that it was a program on the brink of being on the national stage. We'll for sure celebrate it. We talk a lot about a team enjoying the moment and being in the moment. This is a big moment."The Gamecocks are in a familiar spot atop the poll after finishing their regular season undefeated for the second consecutive year. Dawn Staley's squad is the top seed in the SEC Tournament this week.Southern California was fifth, its highest ranking since 1994 when the team was fourth. Texas dropped three spots to sixth.UCLA, LSU and UConn were next. N.C. State moved up two places to 10th, passing ACC regular-season champion Virginia Tech, which fell six places to 11th.MORE ON THE STAGSFairfield became the fourth team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to earn a spot in the Top 25, joining Saint Peter's, LaSalle and Marist, whose last ranking was in 2011.The Stags, who replaced West Virginia in the poll, have already broken the school record for victories in a season and have two games left in the regular season. Fairfield has 14 true road victories which is tied with Saint Joseph's for the most in the country."I think we knew we'd be pretty good. I use the term a lot, cautiously optimistic. I didn't imagine what we did to this point," Thibault-DuDonis said. "We have good senior leadership and a healthy balance of seniors and young guys. We kept learning and growing along the way."CONFERENCE WATCHThe Pac-12, which has been the most dominant conference so far this season, has three of the top seven teams and six ranked in the Top 25 overall.The ACC is next with five teams. The Big 12 has four and the Big Ten three. The SEC and Big East each have two. The West Coast and Mountain West join the MAAC with one each. All the Power Five conferences have their tournaments this week.Women's college basketball AP Top 25 poll: March 4, 2024South Carolina, 29-0Stanford, 26-4Iowa, 26-4Ohio State, 25-4USC, 23-5Texas, 27-4UCLA, 24-5LSU, 26-4UConn, 26-5North Carolina State, 25-5Virginia Tech, 23-6Indiana, 24-4Oregon State, 23-6Notre Dame, 23-6Gonzaga, 29-2Kansas State, 24-6Baylor, 23-6Colorado, 21-8Oklahoma, 21-8Syracuse, 23-6Creighton, 24-4Utah, 21-9UNLV, 21-9Louisville, 23-8Fairfield,
IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Stanford and Iowa jumped up behind top-ranked South Carolina in The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll as the top 10 got a shuffle on the eve of conference tournaments and Fairfield cracked the rankings for the first time in school history.
Stanford moved back up to No. 2 after a weekend sweep of Oregon State and Oregon. Iowa knocked off then-No. 2 Ohio State on Sunday behind Caitlin Clark, who became the NCAA Division I scoring leader during the game. The Big Ten champion Buckeyes fell to fourth.
While Iowa has been in the Top 25 all season, Fairfield made its first appearance, coming in at No. 25. The Stags (26-1) have won 24 straight games and are the only team in the country besides undefeated South Carolina with one or fewer losses.
"Its a huge moment. This place is special," Fairfield coach Carly Thibault-DuDonis said. "One of the major reasons I came here is that it was a program on the brink of being on the national stage. We'll for sure celebrate it. We talk a lot about a team enjoying the moment and being in the moment. This is a big moment."
The Gamecocks are in a familiar spot atop the poll after finishing their regular season undefeated for the second consecutive year. Dawn Staley's squad is the top seed in the SEC Tournament this week.
Southern California was fifth, its highest ranking since 1994 when the team was fourth. Texas dropped three spots to sixth.
UCLA, LSU and UConn were next. N.C. State moved up two places to 10th, passing ACC regular-season champion Virginia Tech, which fell six places to 11th.
MORE ON THE STAGS
Fairfield became the fourth team from the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to earn a spot in the Top 25, joining Saint Peter's, LaSalle and Marist, whose last ranking was in 2011.
The Stags, who replaced West Virginia in the poll, have already broken the school record for victories in a season and have two games left in the regular season. Fairfield has 14 true road victories which is tied with Saint Joseph's for the most in the country.
"I think we knew we'd be pretty good. I use the term a lot, cautiously optimistic. I didn't imagine what we did to this point," Thibault-DuDonis said. "We have good senior leadership and a healthy balance of seniors and young guys. We kept learning and growing along the way."
CONFERENCE WATCH
The Pac-12, which has been the most dominant conference so far this season, has three of the top seven teams and six ranked in the Top 25 overall.
The ACC is next with five teams. The Big 12 has four and the Big Ten three. The SEC and Big East each have two. The West Coast and Mountain West join the MAAC with one each. All the Power Five conferences have their tournaments this week.
Women's college basketball AP Top 25 poll: March 4, 2024
- South Carolina, 29-0
- Stanford, 26-4
- Iowa, 26-4
- Ohio State, 25-4
- USC, 23-5
- Texas, 27-4
- UCLA, 24-5
- LSU, 26-4
- UConn, 26-5
- North Carolina State, 25-5
- Virginia Tech, 23-6
- Indiana, 24-4
- Oregon State, 23-6
- Notre Dame, 23-6
- Gonzaga, 29-2
- Kansas State, 24-6
- Baylor, 23-6
- Colorado, 21-8
- Oklahoma, 21-8
- Syracuse, 23-6
- Creighton, 24-4
- Utah, 21-9
- UNLV, 21-9
- Louisville, 23-8
- Fairfield,