It was a relatively calm week in the world of women's basketball and around the ACC, but the upcoming stretch could be huge as the Blue Devils look to make a push:
It got one last week against rival North Carolina, but No. 17 Duke didn’t need a great performance by senior Elizabeth Williams to beat Pittsburgh 62-45 at Cameron Stadium Thursday night. Freshman forward Azurá Stevens led the Blue Devils with 14 points and 12 rebounds in 33 minutes. Sophomore forward Oderah Chidom also recorded a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds. Duke will play against two unranked teams, Wake Forest Thursday and Clemson Sunday, after hosting No. 8 Louisville Monday. With only eight games left before the ACC tournament, the Blue Devils need to minimize their turnovers and keep surging if they want to improve their posteason prospects.
Sunday was not a day for upsets for most teams, with 10 ranked teams notching wins—including three against lower-ranked foes still in the top 25—though there was still some drama. Texas Christian handed No. 14 Texas its fifth loss in its last seven games 65-59 thanks to a late 7-0 run and 25 Longhorn turnovers. Earlier in the week, Texas knocked off No. 24 Oklahoma 84-81 in a double-overtime thriller led by Ariel Atkins and her 21 points. Things did not improve for the Sooners Sunday, as they were upset by West Virginia 78-69 in Morgantown for their second straight conference loss after opening Big 12 play 7-0. No. 3 Baylor now has a two-game lead in the league standings after continuing its strong play.
One of the best games of the week came Sunday when No. 20 Iowa pushed No. 5 Maryland down to the wire before the Terrapins prevailed 93-88. The Hawkeyes also played a nail-biter Monday against No. 15 Nebraska, but came out on top in that close game, winning 78-72 in overtime thanks to 20 second-half points from Ally Disterhoft. Maryland's win against Iowa was big, though, as it gave the Terrapins a two-game edge in the Big Ten standings.
The SEC and ACC are much more competitive than the Big Ten and Big 12 at this point of the season, with multiple teams tied atop the standings in both leagues. No. 1 South Carolina stayed unbeaten with a dominant 79-61 win against No. 12 Texas A&M and notched two other big wins ahead of a date with No. 21 Georgia this week. No. 6 Tennessee is keeping pace with the Gamecocks and stayed undefeated in league play thanks to a dramatic one-point win at No. 10 Kentucky and a 12-point victory against No. 18 Mississippi State. The Gamecocks and Volunteers are scheduled to meet Feb. 23 and South Carolina also has a marquee Feb. 9 date with No. 2 Connecticut to look forward to.
In the ACC, No. 4 Notre Dame, No. 8 Louisville and No. 9 Florida State remained the only teams with one loss in league play and atop the standings, combining for seven easy double-digit wins last week. The Cardinals were the only team to face a ranked foe but easily dispatched No. 23 Syracuse 78-58 Thursday to earn head coach Jeff Wolz his 200th win. Duke is right behind the trio in the league standings and hosts the Cardinals Monday.
ACC game to watch: No. 17 Duke vs. No. 8 Louisville, Monday, Feb. 2, 7 p.m
Rivals in rank: No. 12 Stanford at No. 11 Arizona State, Friday, Feb. 6, 10 p.m.
Upset alert: No. 1 South Carolina at No. 21 Georgia, Thursday, Feb. 5, 7 p.m.
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