After a shakeup atop the rankings— in which seventh-ranked Kentucky moved up to No. 5 after defeating then-No. 4 Louisville—the top five will remain unchanged this week. The schedule is a bit lighter this week due to final exams.
The game of the week was certainly the No. 5 Wildcats wild 133-130, four-overtime victory against No. 9 Baylor. Kentucky junior guard Jennifer O’Neill set a school record with 43 points in a game that set an NCAA record with 263 points between the two squads. With consecutive victories against top-10 opponents, the Wildcats are establishing themselves as an early favorite for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.
Connecticut, once again the unanimous selection for the No. 1 ranking, steamrolled UC-Davis 97-37 in their only game of the week. They now have almost two full weeks to prepare and rest up for a marquee matchup with the No. 2 Blue Devils at Cameron Indoor Stadium Dec. 17th. The Huskies have been dominating opponents without their full array of players, as key contributors Kaleena-Mosqueda Lewis and Morgan Tuck have sat out the past several games with injuries. Both are hoping to return to the court against Duke.
No. 3 Tennessee held off a scrappy Texas squad by a score of 75-61 in the Lady Vols' lone game of the week. Tennessee never trailed in the game, but the Longhorns cut their lead to a single point on multiple occasions in the second half.
The No. 4 Fighting Irish jumped utilized a big first half lead against No. 10 Penn State to earn a 77-67 victory. Notre Dame led by 14 after the first 20 minutes and never let the Nittany Lions get within nine after that. Senior forward Natalie Achonwa posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds to pace the Fighting Irish. They will travel to Ann Arbor, Mich., to square off with the 6-3 Wolverines on Saturday night.
Duke, in the midst of a tough stretch in its schedule, defeated two ranked opponents this week in No. 16 Purdue and No. 17 Oklahoma. The Blue Devils welcomed the return of Haley Peters, who averaged 16 points in the two victories after missing the previous four games with a knee injury. Duke already has several quality wins on their resume, but their stiffest challenges will be in the upcoming weeks. They have a busy, three-game week following finals: hosting undefeated Connecticut Tuesday and Albany Thursday before traveling to Lexington, Ky. to face the Wildcats. Two top-5 matchups in one week will reveal a lot about the strength of this Blue Devil team that has, so far, looked pretty impressive.
Game to Watch: No. 1 Connecticut vs. No. 2 Duke, Tuesday Dec. 17, 7:00 P.M.
Key ACC Matchup: No. 18 North Carolina vs. No. 12 South Carolina, Wednesday Dec. 18, 7:00 P.M.
Upset Alert: No. 5 Kentucky over No. 2 Duke, Sunday Dec. 22, 3:00 P.M. The Wildcats have been playing great basketball lately and the Blue Devils could be drained after an intense matchup with No. 1 Connecticut.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.