Kentucky drops again in AP poll as losing streak extends to three games
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky fell seven spots to No. 18 after narrow losses to Tennessee and Georgia.
- High turnover totals and limited depth fueled a three-game skid and player fatigue.
- SEC strength expanded to 10 ranked teams as Georgia entered the AP top 25 at No. 23.
Kentucky women’s basketball’s continued cold streak resulted in another week of falling in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s college basketball rankings.
After a single-possession loss at Tennessee and a five-point setbaack to Georgia at home, the Wildcats (17-5, 4-4 SEC) fell seven spots to No. 18 in this week’s rankings.
Kenny Brooks’ comments after the 60-58 loss in Knoxville spread far and wide, as many on social media agreed with the coach’s sentiments that the two teams put out a bad product for fans of the sport.
“This is SEC basketball,” Brooks said. “I think we set basketball back, women’s basketball back, about 15 years today. With the way both teams played. Shooting under 30% from 3, 30-plus turnovers. I wouldn’t have paid to watch it.”
Though Tennessee was the team to shoot below 30% from the 3-point line while Kentucky shot 35% from long range, the Wildcats were responsible for 21 of the 30 turnovers committed during the game; UK ranks second in the SEC in turnovers per game at 11.4.
UK had three players — Amelia Hassett (16 points), Jordan Obi (14) and Tonie Morgan (13) — score in double figures, Brooks’ usual superstar against Kim Caldwell-coached teams didn’t have her typical game.
In each of Clara Strack’s first two games against Caldwell, she shot 100% from the field. That was first at Virginia Tech against Caldwell’s Marshall squad in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament — Strack scored 17 points on 7-of-7 shooting — and then in last season’s UK rout of Tennessee, in which Strack scored 23 points on 11-of-11 shooting.
It would be highly improbable for Strack to have continued her perfect shooting against Caldwell’s teams forever, but Tennessee did a solid job containing Strack. The Lady Vols held the junior center to nine points on 2-of-7 shooting as the majority of her points were scored at the free-throw line. Strack also pulled in 15 rebounds.
Brooks said he was proud of his team for playing “really, really hard” but that the Wildcats didn’t make “winning plays,” despite giving him “everything that they had.”
Kentucky’s losing streak, now at three games, is the longest of the Brooks era. The Wildcats are still without starting senior forward Teonni Key, who dislocated her elbow in the team’s Jan. 4 win over Missouri and has been unavailable since.
Though the Wildcats defeated then-top-five Oklahoma without Key, their lack of depth continues to be an issue.
In Saturday’s 72-67 loss to Georgia, Kentucky trailed for nearly the entire game after an especially slow first quarter. The Wildcats struggled to defend the Bulldogs’ young core of Dani Carnegie (19 points), Trinity Turner (14) and Mia Woolfolk (11 points, 13 rebounds). Georgia’s Rylie Theuerkauf also delivered 19 points, including four 3-pointers, off the bench.
Brooks called the loss “disappointing.”
“I don’t really know how I feel about our kids right now,” Brooks said. “Other than, I do appreciate their effort. They’re tired. Extremely tired. And we’re one of the last teams (that hasn’t) had a bye yet. And obviously, with Teonni’s injury, it’s forced a lot more minutes on a lot of our kids. And you could just tell. Tonight, we were a step slow to the basketball. We got our hands on some basketballs that we normally grab. And, in a game like this, you have to have some winning plays. We’ve had three straight games where we’ve gone into the fourth quarter, I think, down one possession. And we just run out of gas.”
Brooks went on to acknowledge that he feels the team is close, and that, though the Cats have to shift their immediate goals, “it’s a long season,” and UK will use its upcoming break to get healthy and prepare for what’s to come.
Kentucky will not play again until Sunday, when it faces Arkansas. The Razorbacks (11-10), in their first season under new head coach Kelsi Musick, are still looking to grab their first win of conference play.
There are now 10 SEC teams ranked in the AP top 25, which marks the first time in the 50-year history of the women’s rankings that a single conference has double-digit representation.
That’s due, in part, to Georgia’s debut, as the Bulldogs enter at No. 23 this week following the win over Kentucky and a 76-66 victory over Arkansas.
No. 4 Texas (19-2) did not move after an idle week, and No. 10 Oklahoma (16-4), rising six spots, returned to the top 10 after beating South Carolina and Auburn. No. 3 South Carolina fell one spot after its loss to OU and a bounce-back win over Vanderbilt (20-1), which remained at No. 5 after the loss and a top-10 win over Michigan.
No. 6 LSU (18-2) also stayed put with a 98-54 win over Texas A&M.
No. 15 Tennessee (14-3) improved two places thanks to its defeat of Kentucky. No. 17 Ole Miss (17-4) improved one spot after an 82-61 win at Missouri. No. 24 Alabama (18-3) dropped one spot despite an 85-78 win over Mississippi State.
Caroline Makauskas’ Team of the Week
Princeton
The Tigers (17-1) are riding high on a 15-game win streak despite facing a tough overtime test against Harvard on Monday afternoon.
This week, Princeton edged the Crimson 82-79 in overtime and beat Brown 58-49 on the road.
Alone at the top of the Ivy League standings and a confident bet to make the NCAA Tournament, Princeton ranks No. 39 overall in the NCAA NET rankings and has assembled a nice résumé with (as of Monday morning) perfect records in games labeled Quadrants 2-4, and a 1-1 record in Quad 1 matchups.
Behind the top-ranked offense (74.8 points per game) in the Ivy League, the Tigers have beaten Georgia Tech, Villanova, Penn State, Rhode Island, Belmont and Rutgers, with their only loss coming at Maryland in their third game of the season.
Princeton’s offense is led by five players averaging at least 11 points per game, but guard Madison St. Rose, who averages 16.5 points and contributed 19 points in the overtime win against Harvard, leads the pack.
Guard Ashley Chea, whom head coach Carla Berube described as having “ice in her veins,” averages 11.7 points and a team-high 3.5 assists per contest. Chea also scored 19 against the Crimson, including the late 3-pointer to send the game to overtime.
“We have so much confidence, especially when we’re all heated up,” Chea told The Daily Princetonian. “...We knew we were not going to lose that game no matter what happened.”
It was guard Fadima Tall, who averages 13.6 points and a team-best 7.8 rebounds and 2.2 steals per contest, who won the day for Princeton against Brown. Tall recorded 12 points, eight rebounds, two assists and two steals against the Bears to help keep Princeton unbeaten in league play.
Across 18 games, the Tigers are shooting 44.2% shooting from the field, including 34.7% from beyond the arc. A balanced team, Princeton has had five different leading scorers over the course of its season.
Princeton holds a one-game lead over Columbia (13-5, 4-1) in the Ivy League standings. The Tigers will face the Lions Friday at 6 p.m. ET on ESPNU.
Caroline Makauskas’ Top 25 ballot: No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 South Carolina, No. 4 Texas, No. 5 Vanderbilt, No. 6 LSU, No. 7 Michigan, No. 8 Louisville, No. 9 Iowa, No. 10 Ohio State, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 12 TCU, No. 13 Michigan State, No. 14 Baylor, No. 15 Tennessee, No. 16 Mississippi, No. 17 Maryland, No. 18 Duke, No. 19 Texas Tech, No. 20 Washington, No. 21 Princeton, No. 22 Georgia, No. 23 Kentucky, No. 24 North Carolina, No. 25 West Virginia.
