Iowa is ranked No. 2 in this week’s Associated Press women’s basketball poll

The Iowa Hawkeyes are ranked No. 2 in this week’s Associated Press women’s basketball poll.

South Carolina jumped five spots to No. 1 after eye-opening, blowout wins over Notre Dame and Maryland. The Gamecocks hold an 884-869 edge on Iowa in poll points, 23-13 in first-place votes.

Last year’s NCAA champion, LSU lost to Colorado on opening night, 92-78. UConn suffered a 92-81 loss to North Carolina State on Sunday.

The top 10 consists of five Pac-12 teams; UCLA is No. 3, followed by Utah (4), Colorado (5), Stanford (6) and USC (10).

Iowa has lopsided wins against Fairleigh Dickinson (102-46) and UNI (94-53) in the bank, as well as an 80-76 victory over Virginia Tech last Thursday at Charlotte, N.C.

The Hawkeyes were 2023 NCAA runners-up to LSU and returned three starters, led by reigning national player of the year Caitlin Clark.

In Sunday’s win at UNI, Clark became Iowa’s all-time leading scorer with 2,813 career points, supplanting Megan Gustafson (2,804). She is on track to eclipse Kelsey Plum’s NCAA Division-I record of 3,527 points.

Iowa’s next game is Thursday, at home against Kansas State (2-0). Tipoff is 7:30 p.m.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com