The Duke women’s basketball team fell from the top 10 of the AP Top 25 Womens College Basketball Poll for the first time in four weeks on Monday after its unranked loss to South Florida.
The Blue Devils won 10 of their first 12 games this season, taking down the Oklahoma Sooners and Kansas State Wildcats in consecutive games and only faltering to Maryland and South Carolina, a pair of top-10 teams. On Saturday in Tampa, however, a turnover-prone first quarter dropped Duke 18 points behind the Bulls at the midway point.
A strong final 20 minutes couldn’t pull the Blue Devils pack even with South Florida, and the 65-56 loss knocked Duke down five spots to No. 14 in the latest ranking.
Georgia Tech moved one spot above the Blue Devils to swipe the title of second-highest ACC program, although No. 3 Notre Dame maintains a firm hold on the top spot. If there’s a silver lining, however, Duke stayed three spots ahead of the North Carolina Tar Heels.
The undefeated UCLA Bruins stayed in the top spot once again with the Gamecocks hot on their heels. The Fighting Irish, USC Trojans, and Texas Longhorns round out the top five.