After Iowa women’s basketball (18-2, 9-0 Big Ten) secured two more impressive wins over top-15 opponents last week, the Hawkeyes have continued their well-deserved rise up the USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll.
Over the past week, Iowa beat then-No. 13 Maryland in overtime, 85-78, and followed up with a dominant 91-70 victory over then-No. 11 Ohio State. Thanks to its wins over the Terps and Buckeyes, Iowa has climbed to a season-high ranking of No. 8 in the Jan. 27 Coaches Poll update.
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Sophomore center Ava Heiden led Iowa against the Terrapins with 20 points on 9-for-13 shooting, while senior forward Hannah Stuelke collected a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Freshman guard Addie Deal proceeded to notch a new career-high 20 points on 8-of-17 shooting against the Buckeyes, while Stuelke also added her sixth double-double of the campaign with 18 points and 15 rebounds.
Heiden’s 38 combined points in both games would land her Big Ten Player of the Week honors, a distinction Stuelke won the previous week. Meanwhile, Deal’s continued ascension in the Hawkeyes’ offense secured her a second straight Big Ten Freshman of the Week accolade.
In addition to Iowa, six other Big Ten squads are within the updated top 25. UCLA is ranked No. 2, Michigan No. 9, Ohio State No. 12, Michigan State No. 13, Maryland No. 16, and Washington at No. 24.
The trio of Nebraska, Minnesota, and Illinois all sit on the outside in the receiving votes category.
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The lone program to drop out of the top 25 in the Jan. 27 edition of the Coaches Poll was in-state rival Iowa State, which continued its drastic free-fall after reaching as high as No. 10.
For the Hawkeyes, they will have another challenging schedule this week, as they travel to Los Angeles to face USC on Thursday and make the short trip to Westwood for a colossal matchup against No. 2 UCLA on Sunday.
Here’s a look at the full USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll:
|
Rank |
Team |
Record |
PTS |
1st |
Prev |
Chg |
Hi/Lo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1 |
21-0 |
775 |
31 |
1 |
– |
1/1 |
|
|
2 |
19-1 |
738 |
0 |
3 |
1 |
2/4 |
|
|
3 |
20-2 |
710 |
0 |
2 |
1 |
2/3 |
|
|
4 |
19-2 |
657 |
0 |
5 |
1 |
2/5 |
|
|
5 |
19-2 |
635 |
0 |
6 |
1 |
5/12 |
|
|
6 |
20-1 |
625 |
0 |
4 |
2 |
4/21 |
|
|
7 |
19-3 |
549 |
0 |
7 |
– |
7/22 |
|
|
8 |
18-2 |
546 |
0 |
10 |
2 |
8/23 |
|
|
9 |
17-3 |
536 |
0 |
7 |
2 |
7/15 |
|
|
10 |
19-2 |
489 |
0 |
9 |
1 |
7/12 |
|
|
11 |
16-4 |
434 |
0 |
16 |
5 |
5/16 |
|
|
12 |
18-3 |
418 |
0 |
11 |
1 |
11/NR |
|
|
13 |
18-2 |
407 |
0 |
15 |
2 |
13/NR |
|
|
14 |
18-3 |
395 |
0 |
14 |
– |
10/21 |
|
|
15 |
14-3 |
369 |
0 |
17 |
2 |
9/22 |
|
|
16 |
17-4 |
321 |
0 |
13 |
3 |
6/16 |
|
|
17 |
17-4 |
263 |
0 |
18 |
1 |
13/18 |
|
|
18 |
17-5 |
242 |
0 |
12 |
6 |
7/20 |
|
|
19 |
17-1 |
208 |
0 |
20 |
1 |
19/NR |
|
|
20 |
20-2 |
156 |
0 |
19 |
1 |
18/NR |
|
|
21 |
17-4 |
144 |
0 |
22 |
1 |
20/NR |
|
|
22 |
18-3 |
121 |
0 |
23 |
1 |
21/NR |
|
|
23 |
17-5 |
104 |
0 |
21 |
2 |
8/23 |
|
|
24 |
16-4 |
73 |
0 |
25 |
1 |
22/NR |
|
|
25 |
18-3 |
58 |
0 |
NR |
6 |
25/NR |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 24 Iowa State;
Others Receiving Votes
Duke 57; Iowa State 29; Oklahoma State 5; Rhode Island 4; Nebraska 3; Minnesota 3; Illinois 1;
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Iowa women’s basketball soaring in latest USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll
