Coach Kristy Curry and the Alabama Crimson Tide women’s basketball team went 3-0 last week to improve to 6-0 overall for the season and continue its climb up the new USA TODAY Sports Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll, released Tuesday.
Alabama rose one spot to No. 21 and is ranked just behind the Ole Miss Rebels at No. 20. The Crimson Tide jumped ahead of the Louisville Cardinals, who fell four spots to No. 22.
The Tide beat Norfolk State 68-58 last Wednesday in Coleman Coliseum, then blew out Alcorn State 88-59 the following day. They beat UL Monroe 75-52 over the weekend in Louisiana.
Alabama’s 6-0 start ties last season’s start, which led to them earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament in March. They beat Florida State for their first NCAA Tournament win since 2021 before losing to No. 1 seed Texas in the second round in Austin.
Alabama will play Alabama State Monday, Nov. 25 in the Emerald Coast Classic in Florida before taking on either UAB or the Clemson Tigers the following day in the tournament’s championship or runner-up game. Tipoff for the Crimson Tide’s game against Alabama State is set for 1:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on FloSports.
Through six games, Sarah Ashlee Barker leads Alabama in scoring with 18.7 points per game, followed by Aaliyah Nye at 15 points per game. Zaay Green is third with 13.3 per game.
Coach Dawn Staley and the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks (4-0) remained atop the polls. UConn was No. 2 with USC No. 3. As with last week, seven SEC teams were ranked in the Coaches Poll. Texas stayed at No. 4 with Kim Mulkey’s LSU Tigers at No. 7 and the Oklahoma Sooners at No. 9. The Kentucky Wildcats moved up three spots to No. 16 with Ole Miss at No. 20.
Full USA TODAY Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll
| Rank | School (Record) | Points | First Place Votes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | South Carolina (4-0) | 747 | 28 |
| 2 | Connecticut (3-0) | 716 | 1 |
| 3 | Southern California (4-0) | 684 | 1 |
| 4 | Texas (3-0) | 656 | – |
| 5 | Notre Dame (4-0) | 630 | – |
| 6 | UCLA (4-0) | 600 | – |
| 7 | LSU (5-0) | 556 | – |
| 8 | Iowa State (4-0) | 535 | – |
| 9 | Oklahoma (3-0) | 517 | – |
| 10 | Kansas State (4-0) | 477 | – |
| 11 | Ohio State Buckeyes (3-0) | 425 | – |
| 12 | West Virginia (4-0) | 411 | – |
| 13 | Maryland (5-0) | 401 | – |
| 14 | Duke (4-1) | 325 | – |
| 15 | North Carolina (3-1) | 277 | – |
| 16 | Kentucky (5-0) | 272 | – |
| 17 | Baylor (3-1) | 251 | – |
| 18 | North Carolina State (2-2) | 247 | – |
| 19 | Nebraska (4-0) | 183 | – |
| 20 | Ole Miss (3-1) | 145 | – |
| 21 | Alabama (6-0) | 138 | – |
| 22 | Louisville (2-2) | 113 | – |
| 23 | Illinois (4-0) | 110 | – |
| 24 | TCU (4-0) | 92 | – |
| 25 | Oregon (24-10) | 66 | – |
Schools Dropped Out
No. 23 Stanford; No. 25 South Dakota State
Others Receiving Votes
Iowa 33; Tennessee 32; Florida State 29; South Dakota State 22; Mississippi State 14; Stanford 13; Penn State 10; Auburn 7; Michigan State 6; Middle Tennessee 3; Richmond 2; Creighton 2; Saint Joseph’s 1; Michigan 1; Fairfield 1
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