“Around the NCAAW Weekly” highlights the notable events of the week. Check out the milestones, surprises, best games and outstanding performances for games played through Sunday, Jan. 9. All rankings are from last week.
Milestones/accomplishments
1/6/2022: The No. 5 NC State Wolfpack became the first team to reach 400 ACC wins.
1/9/2022: The No. 17 Duke Blue Devils reached 400 ACC wins.
1/9/2022: Kelsey Marshall of the Miami Hurricanes passed the Microwave (Riquna Williams) as the most prolific 3-point shooter in program history. Williams made 272 threes at Miami.
1/8/2022: Tricia Cullop, head coach of the Toledo Rockets, reached 400 career wins.
1/9/2022: Dawn Staley, head coach of the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks, reached 155 SEC wins, passing Gary Blair of the No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies. She now leads all active SEC coaches and has been in the conference five less seasons than Blair.
1/7/2022: Adia Barnes reached 100 wins faster than any coach in Arizona Wildcats history.
1/8/2022: Madi Williams of the No. 23 Oklahoma Sooners reached 1,500 career points. 11 other Sooners have accomplished the feat.
1/9/2022: Aliyah Boston of South Carolina made it nine games in a row with a double-double, tying a program record set in 1975 and 1978.
1/5/2022: The No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers achieved their second-ever 4-0 start in the Big Ten.
1/8/2022: The No. 12 Iowa State Cyclones achieved their first 3-0 start in the Big 12 since 2013-14.
1/6/2022: Tamari Key of the No. 7 Tennessee Lady Volunteers achieved a new career high with 11 blocks. She was one shy of Kelley Cain’s program record for blocks in a single game. Tennessee’s Jordan Walker reached 1,000 career points in the same game.
1/7/2022: Cate Reese of the No. 4 Arizona Wildcats reached the Top 10 in program scoring. Aari McDonald was inducted into the Ring of Honor after the game.
1/6/2022: The No. 3 Louisville Cardinals forced the Pitt Panthers into 35 turnovers. The Louisville program record for forced turnovers is 39.
1/9/2022: The No. 8 Michigan Wolverines earned their largest-ever margin of victory over a storied Rutgers Scarlet Knights program, winning by 29.
1/9/2022: LeLe Grissett of South Carolina has now played in more SEC games (65) than anyone else in program history.
Streak tracker
No. 3 Louisville Cardinals consecutive weeks in Top 10 – 84 (longest active streak in the country)
No. 3 Louisville Cardinals consecutive weeks in Top 25 – 113
No. 14 Baylor Bears consecutive non-conference home wins – 67
No. 10 Maryland Terrapins consecutive home wins – 31 (longest active streak in the country)
No. 10 Maryland Terrapins consecutive home Big Ten wins – 28
No. 2 Stanford Cardinal consecutive Pac-12 wins – 17
No. 5 NC State Wolfpack consecutive ACC wins – 13
No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers consecutive Big Ten wins – 13
No. 6 Indiana Hoosiers consecutive road wins – 11
No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies consecutive wins vs. non-Power 5 opponents – 25
Surprises
Upsets
1/5/2022: Texas Tech Lady Raiders over No. 9 Texas Longhorns, 74-61
This was Texas Tech’s first victory over a Top 10 team since 2011. It is the second year in a row that it has defeated a ranked Longhorns team. The Lady Raiders, who received 23 points from Vivian Gray and 21 points from Bre’Amber Scott, won this game by attempting 44 free throws and making 34 of them.
Texas Tech wasn’t even included on the bubble of ESPN’s Jan. 11 bracketology and is No. 82 in the NET rankings.
1/9/2022: Florida Gators over No. 25 Texas A&M Aggies, 97-89 (2OT)
Zipporah Broughton (28 points, seven rebounds, four steals, two blocks) and Kiara Smith (27 points, nine rebounds, seven assists) combined to score all but two of Florida’s points in the final frame. This was the Gators’ first time beating the Aggies on the road.
Florida wasn’t even on the bubble of ESPN’s Jan. 11 bracketology and is No. 87 in the NET rankings.
1/9/2022: USC Trojans over No. 4 Arizona Wildcats, 76-67
Alyson Miura made the difference with four threes in the fourth quarter for the Trojans.
USC was part of the “first four out” in ESPN’s Jan. 11 bracketology and is No. 55 in the NET rankings.
1/6/2022: Northwestern Wildcats over No. 22 Iowa Hawkeyes, 77-69
The Wildcats were a No. 9 seed in ESPN’s Jan. 11 bracketology and are No. 54 in the NET rankings.
1/4/2022: Nebraska Cornhuskers over No. 8 Michigan Wolverines, 79-58
Alexis Markowski, starting for the first time, dropped 20 points for the Huskers, while Jaz Shelley was good for 12 points and 12 rebounds. Nebraska beat Michigan at its own game, winning the rebounding battle 42-34.
Nebraska hadn’t beaten a Top 10 team since December of 2014, but had five ranked wins last year.
The Huskers were receiving votes last week, were a No. 7 seed in ESPN’s Jan. 11 bracketology and are actually 17 spots ahead of the Wolverines in the NET rankings at No. 11.
1//6/2022: Vanderbilt Commodores over Arkansas Razorbacks, 54-51
Vanderbilt wasn’t even on the bubble of ESPN’s Jan. 11 bracketology and is No. 65 in the NET rankings. Arkansas was a No. 10 seed and is No. 30 in the NET rankings.
1/9/2022: Valparaiso Beacons over Drake Bulldogs, 71-61
The Beacons (4-11) are No. 238 in the NET rankings while the Bulldogs (9-6) are No. 81.
Close calls
1/9/2022: No. 15 Georgia Lady Bulldogs over Alabama Crimson Tide by just four
Alabama was part of the “next four out” in ESPN’s Jan. 11 bracketology and is No. 47 in the NET rankings. The Lady Bulldogs trailed by 21 in the first half of this game.
1/9/2022: No. 11 UConn Huskies over Creighton Bluejays by just eight
Creighton was a No. 11 seed in ESPN’s Jan. 11 bracketology and is No. 29 in the NET rankings.
1/6/2022: Missouri Tigers over Auburn Tigers in overtime
Missouri is of course the only team to have beaten No. 1 South Carolina, but barely beat an Auburn team that wasn’t even on the bubble of ESPN’s Jan. 11 bracketology and is No. 95 in the NET rankings. Missouri was a No. 8 seed in the bracketology and is No. 45 in the NET rankings.
Other news
A source familiar with the situation tells The Next that Florida’s Lavender Briggs, of whom it was recently announced would miss the rest of the season with a shin injury, is in the transfer portal. #NCAAW
— The Next: A women’s basketball newsroom at The IX (@TheNextHoops) January 8, 2022
Briggs averaged 12.5 points and 5.6 rebounds in 14 games this year. She averaged 19.5 and 6.5 last year.
Other games of the week
1/6/2022: Fairleigh Dickinson Knights over Merrimack Warriors, 76-65 (2OT)
1/9/2022: Niagra Purple Eagles over Canisius Golden Griffins, 87-86 (OT)
1/5/2022: Ball State Cardinals over Northern Illinois Huskies, 83-82 (OT)
Other top performances
1/9/2022: Caitlin Clark — 31 points, eight rebounds, 12 assists and two steals for the Iowa Hawkeyes in a win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
1/8/2022: Avery LaBarbera — 30 points, 17 rebounds, three assists and two steals for the Holy Cross Crusaders in a win over the Lehigh Mountain Hawks.
1/5/2022: Dyaisha Fair — 40 points, four assists and three steals for the Buffalo Bulls in a win over the Bowling Green Falcons.
1/9/2022: Cameron Swartz — 39 points and nine rebounds for the Boston College Eagles in a win over the Clemson Tigers.
1/8/2022: Brooke Bjelko — 32 points, nine rebounds and three assists for the Bryant Bulldogs in a win over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights.
New AP rankings (Jan. 10)
Third-year Tennessee coach Kellie Harper has the storied Lady Vols back in the Top 5 (No. 5) for the first time since Nov. 23, 2015. Arizona fell three spots to No. 7. Iowa State moved into the Top 10 at No. 9. Texas fell four spots to No. 13. The Colorado Buffaloes, who were one of just two teams to defeat national champion Stanford last year before missing the NCAA Tournament, moved into the rankings at No. 22. They are the last remaining unbeaten team in Division I. The Kansas State Wildcats (No. 25) also entered the rankings. Iowa and Texas A&M fell out. The Aggies aren’t receiving votes.