‘Focused on ourselves.’ Kentucky holds position in top 25 despite Vandy loss
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Kentucky fell 81-79 to Vanderbilt but retained No. 16 in AP Top 25.
- South Carolina clinched SEC title and rank top three across six team stats.
- LSU and Oklahoma moved up; Vanderbilt remained at No. 5.
Despite another narrow loss, Kentucky’s placement remained the same in this week’s iteration of the AP Top 25 women’s college basketball rankings.
No. 16 Kentucky (20-8, 7-7 SEC) fell just short in its upset attempt of top-five Vanderbilt Sunday afternoon; its 81-79 loss marks the Wildcats’ second, single-possession loss to the Commodores this season.
“Proud of my kids’ effort,” UK coach Kenny Brooks said. “It’s not the outcome…we’ve gotta clean up a couple things as we go down the stretch, but I think I like where we are as we head into postseason play coming up in a couple of weeks.”
Still employing their new-look starting five of Clara Strack, Teonni Key, Amelia Hassett, Tonie Morgan and Asia Boone, the Wildcats got out to a hot start, outscoring Vanderbilt 46-44 in the first half and taking a game-high 12-point lead about midway through the first quarter.
The Wildcats drained 4 of their first 6 attempts from 3-point range, but it didn’t take long for Vanderbilt to come back in it and keep the Wildcats on their toes.
“It’s a 40-minute game,” Brooks said. “We came out, I thought we did a really good job of taking advantage of our opportunities. I felt like we got those same opportunities later on, we just didn’t knock ‘em down. But it doesn’t matter how you start, in particular against a team like Vanderbilt.”
The Commodores never held a lead larger than two and only led for 3:38 of the 40-minute game, which featured 11 lead changes and 10 ties.
“One of the most prolific scoring teams in the country,” Brooks said. “They’re gonna be able to score with you. We got off to a really good start, and I don’t think anything really changed. We missed some shots. But it’s just a 40-minute game.”
As was the case in UK’s 84-83 loss to Vanderbilt at Memorial Coliseum Feb. 5, Commodores Kentucky’s hot start was stamped out by dominant performances by sophomore Mikayla Blakes, a shoo-in to be a first-team All-American, and Aubrey Galvan, a legitimate contender for national Freshman of the Year.
On Sunday, Blakes delivered 35 points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block and committed three turnovers. Galvan contributed 20 points, five assists, two steals and only turned the ball over once.
Each of Brooks’ five starters — Strack (17), Hassett (15), Boone (13), Key (10) and Morgan (10) — scored in double figures as the Wildcats shot 46.8% (30 of 64) from the field and 33% (10 of 30) from beyond the arc.
The Wildcats will close their regular-season play with a Thursday road game at Auburn and a Senior Day contest Sunday against South Carolina.
“We’re locked in and focused on ourselves,” Brooks said. “Obviously, everyone has to invent themselves early on in the season. And, usually, January you look forward to fine-tuning who you’ve become, and you get into February and March, and you just continue to get better.
“...In the last three weeks, we’ve played three top-five teams. And we’ve got another one on Sunday. And so, in all of them, we’re right in the game. We’re not looking for moral victories right now, but what we’ve locked in and focused on right now is just trying to make ourselves better. And we continue to get better, and we get our chemistry down pat; I think we’re gonna be a team to be reckoned with as we go into March.”
No. 5 Vanderbilt maintained its position outside of what has been a largely consistent top four of No. 1 Connecticut, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 South Carolina (27-2) and No. 4 Texas (26-3).
No. 6 LSU (24-4) improved one place after beating Ole Miss 78-70 and Missouri 108-55, while No. 7 Oklahoma (21-6) improved four spots thanks to wins over ranked opponents Georgia and Tennessee.
No. 19 Ole Miss (21-8) fell two spots following a three-game week in which the team beat Tennessee but lost to LSU and South Carolina.
No. 23 Georgia (20-7), despite a four-point loss to Oklahoma, and No. 24 Alabama (21-7), which lost to South Carolina but beat Florida, each improved one place.
Tennessee (16-10) dropped out of the rankings after consecutive losses to Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma. The Lady Vols are now 8-6 in SEC play, having lost their past four contests, but did receive Top 25 votes.
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Caroline Makauskas’ Team of the Week
South Carolina
The Gamecocks are SEC regular-season champions once more — for the 10th time ever, and fifth consecutive year.
After last season’s shared title with eventual Final Four opponent Texas, the Gamecocks reloaded and repositioned themselves not just to win another championship but to do so without the “Co-” ahead of “SEC Champ.”
Though a fifth consecutive league title is business as usual for South Carolina and veteran leaders like point guard Raven Johnson, the program’s new faces
In order to miss out on sole ownership of the regular-season conference championship, the Gamecocks would have to lose both of their remaining games this week. The ESPN Matchup Predictor gives Missouri, South Carolina’s first opponent this week, a 1% chance of wining.
Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks currently sit two games ahead of the second-place Texas and Vanderbilt, both 11-3 in league play.
“The kitchen’s hot when we play the type of league that we play in,” Staley said. “Sometimes you’ve got to walk through it to get to the thermostat to turn it down. I think we’ve done a really good job taking the time with our players when they need it.”
Though the Gamecocks have just one top-five representative across all six of the main individual SEC statistical rankings (points, rebounds, assists, blocks, 3-pointers made and steals per game) — center Madina Okot leads the league in rebounds (10.6) and ranks fifth in blocks (1.7) per game — South Carolina as a team ranks within the league’s top three in all six categories.
South Carolina ranks first in conference field-goal percentage (51.2%); second scoring average (87.3), points allowed (56.0), points differential (+31.2) and blocks (6.3); and third in rebounds (42.7) per contest.
The Gamecocks have five players averaging at least 9.8 points per game, including Okot, who averages 13.4 points.
Joyce Edwards (20.1 points pere game) and Ta’Niya Latson (14.8 points) were named to the 2026 Naismith Trophy Women’s College Player of the Year Late-Season Team. Edwards also averages 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
Guard Tessa Johnson averages 13.1 points, plus 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest, while veteran leader Raven Johnson posts 9.8 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.7 steals and a team-high 5.4 assists per game.
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 Iowa, No. 8 Duke, No. 9 Michigan, No. 10 TCU, No. 11 Oklahoma, No. 12 Maryland, No. 13 Louisville, No. 14. Ohio State, No. 15 Michigan State, No. 16 Texas Tech, No. 17 West Virginia, No. 18 Kentucky, No. 19 North Carolina, No. 20 Ole Miss, No. 21 Minnesota, No. 22 Alabama, No. 23 Georgia, No. 24 Fairfield, No. 25 Princeton.
