In a week that featured several matchups pitting ranked opponents against each other, the Blue Devils were not the only team to be knocked from the ranks of the unbeaten.
No. 8 Duke suffered its first loss of the season on the road at No. 7 Texas A&M Sunday afternoon despite holding a 15-point advantage midway through the second half. The Aggies—led by 40 points from the duo of Courtney Williams and All-American guard Courtney Walker—ripped off a 19-4 run that brought them back into the game before taking the lead for good with four minutes remaining. The Blue Devils were playing without their best player—three-time All-American Elizabeth Williams, who was sidelined with a foot injury—and were outscored 18-0 in fastbreak points.
No. 4 Tennessee fell not once, but twice, and is sure to drop significantly in the rankings come Monday. The Lady Vols were dominated by unranked Chattanooga Wednesday night, trailing by as many as 17 and falling by a final score of 67-63. The Lady Mocs were led by 27 points from guard Keiana Gilbert and shot better than 50 percent from the field while holding Tennessee to under 40 percent as a team.
No. 6 Texas handed the Lady Vols their second loss in as many games Sunday night, triumphing in a convincing 72-59 win to remain undefeated. The Longhorns had four players reach double figures in scoring and shot 49.2 percent as a team, using a balanced attack to defeat a reeling Tennessee squad.
In yet another contest featuring a pair of ranked teams, No. 11 North Carolina knocked off No. 5 Stanford 70-54 Friday in the opening round of the Rainbow Wahine Shootout. The Tar Heels won the battles down low, outrebounding the Cardinal 47-32 to keep its unblemished record and hand Stanford its second loss of the year.
At the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands, No. 9 Kentucky was upset by Illinois 77-71. Despite committing 25 turnovers, the Fighting Illini were able to prevail against the Wildcats thanks to a combined 62 points from forward Chatrice White, guard Kyley Simmons and guard Ivory Crawford.
ACC game to watch: No. 3 Connecticut at No. 2 Notre Dame, Saturday, Dec. 6, 3:15 p.m.
Rivals in rank: No. 10 Maryland at No. 2 Notre Dame, Wednesday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., No. 1 South Carolina at No. 8 Duke, Sunday, Dec. 7, 1 p.m., No. 9 Kentucky at No. 12 Louisville, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2 p.m.
Upset alert: No. 17 Iowa at No. 12 Louisville, Thursday, Dec. 4, 7 p.m.
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