Five takeaways from AP Top 25 women's basketball poll

In this week's Associated Press Top 25 women's college basketball poll, released on Monday, one program re-enters the top five, while another team continues its climb up the rankings. Here are five takeaways from the poll.

Vanderbilt moves back into top five

After suffering their first two losses of the season consecutively, the Commodores (22-2, 8-2 SEC) move up two spots to No. 5 after outlasting then-No. 16 Kentucky in an 84-83 shootout on Thursday.

Sophomore guard Mikayla Blakes led the way with 37 points, marking her seventh game with at least 30 points this season and her 12th such game in her career, tying Arkansas' Chelsea Dungee and Texas A&M's Chennedy Carter for the most in the SEC since 2009-10.

Louisville drops as struggles against ranked teams continue

The Cardinals (22-4, 12-1 ACC), down three spots to No. 9, saw their 14-game winning streak end in a 59-58 loss to then-No. 17 Duke on Thursday. Louisville got behind from the opening tip and struggled from deep (5-of-17) in the loss.

While the Cardinals are 18-0 against unranked opponents this season, they are now 3-4 against AP-ranked teams. That will need to improve if they want to be legitimate contenders down the stretch.

Duke, Baylor surge

The Blue Devils (18-6, 13-0 ACC) move up six spots to No. 11 as their remarkable turnaround continues. Duke has won 15 straight since a 3-6 start, which is tied for the third-longest streak following a losing streak of at least four games in the same season in Division I in the past 25 seasons.

The Bears (21-4, 10-2 Big 12), up three spots to No. 12, kicked off the season with a win over the Blue Devils and have thrived in road games. Baylor has now won 17 of its last 20 games away from Waco and at least 20 games total in 26 consecutive seasons, behind only top-ranked UConn for the most in DI.

Iowa, Tennessee plummet 

The Hawkeyes (18-5, 9-3 Big Ten) drop five spots to No. 15 after suffering their third straight loss on Thursday. That 91-85 defeat to unranked Minnesota was Iowa's third in as many losses allowing at least 80 points, something it must clean up if it wants to back up the eight-game winning streak that preceded the current drought.

The Lady Vols (15-6, 7-2 SEC) had a shot at first place in the conference with a win over No. 3 South Carolina on Sunday. Instead, Tennessee was blown out, 93-50, and falls three spots to No. 22 after suffering its sixth consecutive loss against an AP top-10 opponent under head coach Kim Caldwell.

North Carolina moves up amid seven-game winning streak

The Tar Heels (20-5, 9-3 ACC) move up four spots to No. 21 and are now 20-2 against unranked competition this season. North Carolina has been led by a balanced scoring attack with senior forward Nyla Harris (11.4 PPG) one of seven players averaging more than six points per game.

To be fair, North Carolina has lost each of its three games against ranked opponents, but it has taken care of business when it has needed to. With a pair of games against in-state rival Duke left on its regular-season schedule, there is still time for North Carolina to add a quality win or two to its resume.