A top-five matchup gave fans the season’s first upset as No. 5 Michigan ended UConn’s 39-game win streak. Meanwhile, USC’s JuJu Watkins made a sensational return after 20 months away from basketball, winning the Player of the Week honor. With the UConn-Michigan clash shaking things up, here’s how things changed compared to AP’s Preseason rankings in our Week 1 Women’s College Basketball rankings.

T-10. The Iowa Hawkeyes

The Iowa Hawkeyes started their season off with two dominant wins. The Hawkeyes first beat the Towson Tigers 73-45 last Monday at home in the Carver-Hawkeye Arena. They followed that up with another blowout, an 80-39 win over the Eastern Illinois Panthers on Thursday.

Unfortunately, their next opponent, UConn, halted that momentum. The Hawkeyes struggled to contain Sarah Strong as the Huskies beat the Hawkeyes 91-79. With that 2-1 start, the Hawkeyes are tied at 10th place with UCLA.

T-10. UCLA Bruins

While UCLA was No. 11 in AP’s Preseason poll, the Bruins have moved up a spot on our list, tying Iowa in 10th. However, unlike the Hawkeyes, the UCLA Bruins are among the teams that have played two games in Week 1.

Fortunately for the Bruins, both of those games were dominant performances. UCLA opened their season at the Pauley Pavilion, defeating the Lehigh Mountain Hawks 73-53. They secured an even bigger margin of victory against the UC Irvine Anteaters, beating them 78-42. Sienna Betts was their consistent performer, leading her team with 15 and 17 points, respectively.

9. LSU Tigers

Kim Mulkey’s LSU Tigers also went undefeated in Week 1, and did so emphatically. The Tigers opened their season against the SE Louisiana Lady Lions at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center and demolished their opponents 129-35. Guard ZaKiyah Johnson led the night with 33 points while shooting 14 of 19 from the field.

Game 2 was more of the same, but this time the Tigers scored even higher. They beat the Texas Southern Tigers 131-22 at Baton Rouge. This time Mikaylah Williams led the charge, scoring a game-high 20 points, with Johnson close behind, scoring 17 points.

8. Vanderbilt Commodores

The Commodores also dominated in Week 1, playing three games and winning all three while scoring at least 100 points per game.

The Commodores smashed the Lipscomb Bisons 112-53 on November 2. In Game 2, they handed a similar 100-42 defeat to the Queens University Royals. Finally, they once again registered a 102-50 blowout win against the Morehead State Eagles.

It wasn’t just the final scoreline that remained consistent in all three games. Mikayla Blakes showed just why she made the AP Preseason All-American Team, scoring 25, 24, and 27 points, respectively.

7. Louisville Cardinals

The Cardinals won all three of their Week 1 contests, although they couldn’t keep up the 100-point games like Vanderbilt. They started their season with a dominant 119-47 performance against the Bellarmine Knights. They followed that up with two more wins but could only cross the 80-point threshold.

However, that didn’t mean they struggled against the Stetson Hatters or the Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles. The Cardinals cruised to an 87-35 win against the Hatters, followed by an 80-57 win against the Screaming Eagles on November 8.

6. Duke Blue Devils

Duke kept their AP Preseason Poll position after starting off strong with two wins. The Blue Devils beat the Green Bay Phoenix 76-60 at the Cameron Indoor Stadium. They remained consistent in Game 2 against the Florida Atlantic Owls, beating them 78-56.

Arianna Robinson and Aaliyah Crump lead the team after averaging 12 points across the opening week for Duke.

5. Texas Longhorns

The Longhorns come in at No. 5, improving one position compared to their AP Preseason Poll position. To no one’s surprise, Madison Booker scored game-highs in both of the Longhorns’ two opening games.

Booker scored 24 points in the Longhorns’ season opener against Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, winning 85-65. She then turned in an even bigger performance against the Northern Colorado Bears, scoring 30 points while shooting 10 of 14 from the field. Across two games, the Texas senior averaged 27 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.5 assists.

4. UConn Huskies

Unfortunately for Geno Auriemma, his Huskies come in at fourth on our list. They were No. 2 heading into the season, but an upset loss against No. 5 (preseason) Michigan meant they have slipped down two positions in our Week 1 ranking.

Despite opening their season by brushing aside the Northern Colorado Bears 100-35, Michigan handed the Huskies their first loss of the regular season in Game 2. It was only their second meeting in women’s college basketball history, and now they’re 1-1.

However, the Huskies bounced back immediately against the Iowa Hawkeyes, winning Game 3, 91-79. Sarah Strong dominated the game, scoring 39 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks.

3. USC Trojans

The dominant storyline coming out of the Trojans camp was JuJu Watkins return to action after 588 days away from the basketball court. Coming back after recovering from an ACL injury and the subsequent surgery, Watkins certainly didn’t disappoint.

She started slowly in their season opener against the UNLV Lady Rebels. Watkins scored 21 points, which was the third-highest on her team, followed by Jazzy Davidson (23) and Saniyah Hall (22), as the Trojans topped the Lady Rebels 100-68.

Then, in their 118-40 Game 2 win against the Utah State Aggies, Watkins scored a team-high 32 points, 16 rebounds, and shot 4 of 7 from the field. Watkins’ triumphant return earned her the AP Women’s Basketball Player of the Week for Week 1.

2. Michigan Wolverines

Michigan started in the No. 5, but their win against the UConn Huskies has pushed them to No. 2 right behind our top Week 1 team.

The Wolverines were under pressure in their season opener against UConn, as they had lost their first encounter against the Huskies last year. Meanwhile, the Huskies were coming off a dominant win. However, Te’Yala Delfosse led the charge, scoring 22 points and 3 of 4 from beyond the arc, while Olivia Olsen scored 19 as the Wolverines took the Huskies down 77-66.

Game 2 saw the Wolverines assert their dominance against the Wright State Raiders, with a 109-52 blowout victory, with Olsen scoring a team-high 19 points.

1. South Carolina Gamecocks

Dawn Staley’s team takes the top spot on our list as they started off their week with a 101-93 win against the Maryland Terrapins. Joyce Edwards led her team with 23 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.

While the first win was dominant, they came back stronger in Game 2, winning 84-39 against the North Carolina Tar Heels. While Edwards was once again dependable, scoring 15 points and four rebounds, Chloe Kitts shined with a game-high 17 points and 10 rebounds, registering the double-double while scoring 7 of 12 from the field.

While that closes out our Week 1 ranking, this is just the beginning. So come back next week to see what changes.