Five takeaways from AP Top 25 women's basketball poll

Although the top five is mostly unchanged, the rest of this week's Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll, released on Monday, features a lot of movement.

Here are five takeaways from the poll.

Top five mostly unchanged

While the top five is mostly the same as last week, South Carolina did its best to create a shakeup. 

The Gamecocks (9-1) handled No. 8 Duke (9-2), 81-70, and blew out previously unbeaten TCU (9-1), 85-52. South Carolina shot 40 percent from three in the blowout win over TCU, which is an area the team has struggled in so far.

The third-ranked Gamecocks now have four wins over AP-ranked teams this season, which is the most in Division I. If its three-point shot continues to improve, South Carolina will likely have even more ranked wins on its resume as it goes for another national title.

While SEC foe LSU (11-0) moved up to No. 4 in the rankings, it was not as easy for the Tigers. LSU needed a late rally just to force overtime against Stanford in the SEC/ACC Challenge.

The Tigers would go on to win the game, 94-88 in OT, behind a season-high 32 points from sophomore Mikaylah Williams.

LSU only had four turnovers the entire game, which could benefit it going forward in tightly contested games.

Notre Dame moves up after big win

After back-to-back losses the week prior, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-2) bounced back in a big way.

Notre Dame took down a top five Texas team, 80-70 in overtime, behind star Hannah Hidalgo's 30 points. The Fighting move up two spots to No. 8 in the poll.

In the team's win over Syracuse, 93-62, on Sunday, Sonia Citron, Hidalgo and Olivia Miles each had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. That was only the fifth time three teammates have accomplished the feat in the same Division I game in the last 25 seasons.

With a huge showdown against No. 2 UConn (8-0) looming on Thursday, the Fighting Irish will need that kind of production to upset the Huskies.

TCU, Kentucky, Iowa fall after suffering first losses of season

The TCU Horned Frogs (9-1) fall from No. 9 to No. 12 in the rankings after the blowout loss to South Carolina.

Despite only shooting 33.3 percent from the floor and committing 20 turnovers, Hailey Van Lith (21 points, six assists) put up her 11th career game with 20 or more points and five-plus assists. Unfortunately, she was the only player in double figures for the Horned Frogs, which will have to change against stiffer competition the rest of the season.

After a strong start to the season, the Kentucky Wildcats (7-1) lost their first game to then-No. 16 North Carolina (9-1), 72-53, dropping them down two spots to the No. 16 ranking this week.

Along with poor three-point shooting (29.2 percent), the Wildcats were outmatched in the paint, 42-10. Those two areas need to be looked into if Kentucky is going to compete in the stacked SEC.

It was a sloppy first loss for the Iowa Hawkeyes (8-1), who fall from No. 17 down to No. 21. After being tied with Tennessee (7-0) at the break, Iowa lost the game, 78-68, after committing an absurd 30 turnovers.

Better ball control is a must going forward for the Hawkeyes.

Michigan State sees biggest jump in rankings

The 9-0 Michigan State Spartans move up seven spots to No. 17 after their undefeated start to the season. While they have not faced a ranked opponent yet, the Spartans are getting balanced production from senior Julia Ayrault (16.4 PPG, 8.5 RPG) and juniors Grace VanSlooten (15.5 PPG, 8.4 RPG) and Theryn Hallock (12.2 PPG, 3.4 APG).

Heading into its Big Ten opener against No. 21 Iowa on Sunday, Michigan State will put its balanced scoring and consistent shot-making (49.1 percent) to the test.

Tennessee, N.C. State, Georgia Tech enter the poll

After snapping a seven-game losing streak to AP-ranked opponents in a win over then-No. 17 Iowa, Tennessee (7-0) goes from unranked to No. 19. 

The Lady Vols are led by sophomore Talaysia Cooper, who has scored at least 20 points in four straight games. While Tennessee's three-point shooting (28.7 percent) needs to improve, the Lady Vols forced 30 Iowa turnovers. The team may need to rely on a strong defensive effort, especially if the long-range shots are not going down.

The N.C. State Wolfpack (6-3) reenter the poll at No. 22 after taking down then-No. 18 Ole Miss (6-3), 68-61. Although N.C. State turned the ball over 22 times, the team had 45 rebounds and shot a ridiculous 57.1 percent from three. 

For a team shooting 34.5 percent from long range, they could use more of what they got against Ole Miss the rest of the season.

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (9-0), ranked 25th, return to the rankings for the first time since the 2021-22 season. 

Off to their best start since 1977-78, the Yellow Jackets knocked off No. 21 Oregon, 74-58, on Nov. 25. Georgia Tech's leading scorer Dani Carnegie only averages 13.9 points per game, so the team may need an uptick in its overall production if it is going to keep the momentum going.