NEW YORK—South Dakota women’s basketball ranks No. 25 in this week’s poll to post its third week in the Associated Press Top 25 this season.
South Dakota drops three places in the writer’s poll after a week filled with upsets in women’s basketball. Eleven ranked teams lost 13 games during the week with eight of those losses coming against unranked opponents. Both No. 18 Arizona State and No. 22 Iowa climbed into the poll after two wins each against top-25 teams. The Sun Devils knocked off then-No. 2 Oregon and then-No. 3 Oregon State in back-to-back games. South Carolina, one of the Coyotes’ two losses on the season, moved to No. 1 in the poll for the first time this season.
No. 25 South Dakota (15-2) handled Omaha with a 77-44 victory in its lone game last week. Senior guard Ciara Duffy was one of four players in double-figures, recording a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists. She became the first Coyote since the 2015-16 season to record 10 or more assists in a game.
Joining Duffy in double-digits was junior center Hannah Sjerven with 12 points, senior forward Taylor Frederick with 11 points and junior guard Chloe Lamb with 10 points.
No. 25 South Dakota remains in the Associated Press Poll for back-to-back weeks and its third week this season. The Coyotes have been in the AP Top 25 for five weeks over the last two seasons combined with its highest ranking of 22nd coming a week ago.
The Coyotes tip-off at North Dakota State at 7 p.m. Thursday in Fargo, North Dakota. South Dakota then returns home to host in-state rival South Dakota State at 1 p.m. Saturday inside the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. Tickets for the game against the Jacks are available on GoYotes.com.
Associated Press Top 25
1. South Carolina (16-1)
2. Baylor (13-1)
3. Stanford (15-1)
4. UConn (13-1)
5. Louisville (16-1)
6. Oregon (13-2)
7. UCLA (16-0)
8. Oregon State (15-1)
9. North Carolina State (15-1)
10. Mississippi State (15-2)
11. Kentucky (14-2)
12. Texas A&M (14-2)
13. Florida State (15-2)
14. DePaul (15-2)
15. Indiana (14-3)
16. Gonzaga (16-1)
17. West Virginia (13-1)
18. Arizona State (13-4)
19. Missouri State (14-2)
20. Maryland (12-4)
21. Arizona (13-3)
22. Iowa (13-3)
23. Arkansas (14-3)
24. Tennessee (13-3)
25. South Dakota (15-2)
(USD Sports Information contributed this report.)
