BIG EAST TEAMS TOP GBALLMAG.COM POLL
By Dave Wohlhueter

The Big East Conference, led by No. 1 UConn, has three teams in this week's Gballmag.com weekly women's basketball top 10 poll. This is the most representation of any of the conferences in the NCAA Division I. Joining the Huskies in the top 10 are No. 3 Notre Dame, and No. 9 West Virginia.

The Big 12 Conference lists a pair of teams: No. 4 Nebraska and No. 10 Oklahoma State. The Pac-10 is represented by No. 2 Stanford; SEC, No. 5 Tennessee; ACC, No. 6 Duke; Big Ten, No. 7 Ohio State; and Atlantic 10, No. 8 Xavier.

The big story line is still unbeaten UConn (22-0, 9-0 Big East), a team that has now won 61 in a row, and is nine short of the NCAA women's and school record of 70 consecutive triumphs set by the 2001-03 Huskie squads. UConn has also set a record for being ranked No. 1 for 37 consecutive weeks.

On Tuesday night, UConn ruined West Virginia's (20-3, 8-2 Big East) entrance into this week's top 10 with an 80-47 triumph over the visitors. The Mountaineers have only lost three times this season, but two of them are in their own conference, to No. 3 Notre Dame and now UConn.

West Virginia hung in there with the Huskies for 25 minutes, slowing the game down by using the shot clock to its utmost, and trailed 32-24 at the intermission. It was UConn's lowest-scoring first half of the season, and just the third time that it didn't have a double-digit margin after 20 minutes of action.

The Huskies had seen enough (or was it Coach Geno Auriemma's pep talk at halftime that made a difference). Freshman guard Kelly Faris, who started the second half, made a steal and converted a 3-pt. play as part of a 24-3 Huskie run that put the game away early after the intermission.

Three minutes into the second half, the home team scored 24 of the next 27 points, including seven straight points by senior center Tina Charles. Senior guard Kalana Greene, who had 18 points for the game, contributed six points during the run. The Huskies shot 68 percent in the final 20 minutes.

Junior forward Maya Moore added 15 points and a season-best 14 rebounds.

Junior guards Sarah Miles and Liz Repella scored 14 and 13 points, respectively, to lead the visitors.

On Saturday, UConn took its show on the road to Pittsburgh (12-8, 1-6 Big East) and came home with a 98-56 triumph. Charles scored 24 points and became the sixth UConn player to reach 2,000 points in her career. She is the first Huskie to go over the 2,000 mark since Diana Taurasi in 2004.

The game was over early as Charles tallied 18 points in the first 20 minutes, and UConn took a 19-6 lead in the first 5.5 minutes. Pitt got back to within eight points (21-13), but the Huskies went on a 14-2 run to make it 35-15. Moore added 22 points, and Greene scored 18, as UConn shot 55.6 percent for the game.

Junior guard Shay Scott led Pitt with 18, as the Panthers dropped their sixth game in the last seven outings.

No. 2 Stanford (19-1, 9-0 Pac-10) started slowly in both of its victories this past week, but it's what is showing on the scoreboard after 40 minutes that counts.

On Saturday, the Cardinal won its 40th straight home victory, beating Arizona (9-10, 3-6 Pac-10) 83-62 at Maples Pavilion. Sophomore forward Nnemkadi Ogwumike scored eight of her 27 points during a 10-0 run to start the second half. For the second straight game, Stanford trailed at the end of the first half, this time by a 42-40 tally.

Junior forward Kayla Pedersen added 27 points and 13 rebounds, as the Cardinal out-rebounded the visitors, 52-22, including 26 offensive caroms. The Stanford outside game was nonexistent, as the Cardinal was 8-for-35 from behind the 3-pt. arc.

Two nights earlier, Stanford got off to its worst start in more than two decades, but had a great second half to pull out a 71-48 victory over visiting Arizona State(12-7, 4-4 Pac-10) 71-48. The loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the visitors.

After trailing by 14 in the first half, Stanford outscored the Sun Devils 35-5 in a span that took in both halves. Arizona State missed its first five shots after the intermission. The visitors had led 29-25 at halftime, winning the battle of the boards, 22-14.

Pedersen had 23 points and seven caroms, as the Cardinal finished the game with a 40-31 margin in rebounds. Senior guard Rosalyn Gold-Onwude had a career high of 19 points, and senior center Jayne Appel added 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Arizona State made only 5-of-22 shots after the break, and was led by junior guard Tenaya Watson, who scored all of her 12 points in the first half.

No. 3 Notre Dame (20-1, 7-1 Big East) has won five in a row since losing to UConn back on Jan. 16. The two teams play again in the final game of the regular-season on March 1 in South Bend, IN.

This past Monday, the Irish won at Rutgers (12-10, 4-4 Big East) 75-63, as freshman guard Skylar Diggins tallied 14 points, and junior forward Becca Bruszewski added 13. It was the first ND win over Rutgers since 2005.

Notre Dame led 44-36 midway through the second half, but the Scarlet Knights used a 13-0 run to narrow the gap to 52-50 with 5:12 remaining. Leading 55-52, Diggins started a 9-1 run with a layup to put the game away. The visitors led 31-23 at the intermission.

Sophomore guard Khadijah Rushdan scored 16 points to lead Rutgers, and senior forward Myia McCurdy tied her career best with 14. Rutgers' top scorer going into the game, senior guard Brittany Ray, shot 1-for-21, including 0-for-10 from 3-pt. land.

Last Saturday, senior guard Ashley Barlow, who had missed her previous four 3-pt. attempts, swished at shot from behind the arc with 34.2 seconds showing on the clock to give the Irish a 74-73 victory at Syracuse (16-5, 3-5 Big East).

Juanita Ward's 3-pt. play had given the Orange a 73-71 lead with 1 minute to play. Syracuse's zone defense limited Notre Dame to 25 percent shooting in the second half, and the Orange outrebounded the visitors, 49-34. The team made just 23-of-37 free throws and committed 25 turnovers.

Diggins matched her season high with 21 points, and Barlow tied her season high with 19 points. Syracuse had four players in double-figure scoring, led by Ward with 16 points.

No. 4 Nebraska (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) moved up two spots in this week's poll. It's tough to win on the road within the Big 12, but the Cornhuskers proved up to the task with a pair of victories this past week. On Saturday, senior forward Kelsey Griffin scored 24 points, and junior guard Dominique Kelley added a career-high 18 points to help Nebraska to an 80-64 win at Colorado.

Nebraska is off to the best start of any Big 12 team since the conference's beginning in 1996-97. Colorado got to within 50-44 with 12 minutes left in the game, but the visitors upped the margin to 58-46 and then 70-52 with 4:31 remaining.

The Buffaloes were led by Bianca Smith and Chucky Jeffrey with 14 points apiece, and the latter also grabbed 11 rebounds for her first career double-double.

Last Wednesday, Griffin had 20 points and 10 rebounds for her fifth consecutive double-double, as the Cornhuskers won at Texas Tech (13-6, 1-4 Big 12) 89-47. The visitors never trailed and led by 20 or more points throughout the second half. It was the first win for Nebraska at Texas Tech in eight trips. The 42-point victory margin was the largest in school history.

Senior guard Yvonne Turner, with 13 points, converted 3-of-5 shots from behind the 3-pt. arc, and has made 20 3-pointers in the last four outings. Nebraska made 7-of-16 shots from behind the arc, while the Raiders missed all 12 of their attempts.

Freshman Christine Hyde scored a career-high 15 points to lead the home team in the worst loss for head coach Kristy Curry since she arrived at Texas Tech in 2006.

No. 5 Tennessee (19-2, 7-1 SEC) turned in an ugly game at South Carolina (11-10, 4-5 SEC) on Sunday, but came away with its 38th straight win over the Gamecocks, 60-55. The Lady Vols fell behind 13-0, and never took the lead until there was less than 8 minutes left in the contest.

Tennessee took the lead to stay, as sophomore center Kelley Cain made consecutive layups for a 56-54 lead with 1:57 remaining. South Carolina had its chances down the stretch, but missed two free throws, failed on six field goal attempts, and committed two turnovers in the last 4 minutes to do itself in.

Freshman guard Kamiko Williams led Tennessee with a career-high 17 points, sophomore forward Alyssia Brewer contributed 13, and Cain added 10.

La'Keisha Sutton led South Carolina with 19 points, and Valerie Nainima added 16.

Tennessee started the week at home last Thursday with an 85-56 triumph over visiting Auburn (11-10, 2-6). Junior guard/forward Angie Bjorklund led the way with 20 points, including six baskets from behind the arc. Sophomore guard/forward Shekinna Stricklen added 17, including three shots from 3-pt. land, and sophomore forward Glory Johnson had a double-double of 15 points and 13 rebounds.

Alli Smalley led the visiting Tigers with 21 points.

No. 6 Duke (18-3, 6-0 ACC) moved up one spot with a 73-43 whipping of nationally-ranked Florida State (18-4, 4-2 ACC) in Durham, NC last Friday. The Blue Devils opened the game on a 20-2 run, as the Seminoles missed 12 of their first 13 shots, and had 13 turnovers at the intermission.

Junior guard Jasmine Thomas scored 18 of her 23 points in the second half, and junior center Krystal Thomas added 10 points and 11 rebounds. It was Duke's 11th straight ACC victory at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Junior guard Courtney Ward scored 11 points for the Seminoles who saw their four-game winning streak halted with their worst loss of the season. The visitors had 27 turnovers.

No. 7 Ohio State (21-3, 9-2 Big Ten) dropped its second game in the last three outings, and went down two spots in this week's poll.

On Sunday, the Buckeyes dropped a 67-62 decision at Indiana (12-10, 5-6 Big Ten), but still remain on top of the conference.

Jori Davis led the Hoosiers with 19 points and Danilsa Andujar grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds, and held All-American center Jantel Lavender to just three second-half points. Hope Elam added 15 points, including a pair of game-clinching free throws with 1.8 seconds remaining. It was just the second time in the last 13 meetings that Indiana has beaten Ohio State

Lavender led the visitors with 20 points and 15 rebounds, but her damage was limited to the first 20 minutes. Senior forward Andrea Walker and sophomore guard Samantha Prahalis added 15 and 14 points, respectively. The Buckeyes, behind Lavender and Walker, led 42-35 at the intermission.

Last Thursday, Prahalis had 23 points, 10 assists, six rebounds and no turnovers in leading Ohio State to an 81-58 victory over visiting Minnesota (11-9, 4-5 Big Ten). Lavender added 20 points and 11 rebounds , while Kiara Buford and Zoe Harper had 14 and 13 points, respectively, for the Gophers.

Ohio State led 55-26 at halftime, as Prahalis recorded 19 points and nine assists.

No. 8 Xavier (16-3, 6-0 A-10) won its seventh straight game since losing at LSU on Dec. 30, beating visiting Dayton (16-4-2 A-10) 74-49 on Saturday. The Musketeers had a perfect month at 7-0¡ªtheir first unblemished January in the history of the school.

The big front of juniors Amber Harris and Ta'Shia Phillips once again did the damage, although freshman Katie Rutan did her part from the backcourt. Harris had 19 points and 14 rebounds, and Phillips added 16 points and 15 caroms. Rutan tallied 16 points, including five shots from behind the arc. Senior guard Dee Dee Jernigan came off the bench to add seven points and 10 rebounds.

Xavier had its largest lead of the first half at 31-17, and took a 33-20 score into the locker room. Dayton came out with a 6-0 run to get within seven points. Rutan's third 3-pointer made the score 42-28 with 13:52, an obstacle Dayton could not overcome. Kristin Daugherty topped the Flyers with 13 points.

Last Wednesday, senior forward April Phillips had 18 points and 11 rebounds to help Xavier to an 88-60 win at Rhode Island (9-12, 2-4 A-10). Ta'Shia Phillips added 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Musketeers led 38-21 after 20 minutes of play.

Megan Shoniker scored 28 points for the home-standing Rams.

No. 9 West Virginia, before its loss to UConn, defeated visiting Louisville (11-10, 3-5 Big East) 72-66 on Saturday night. Miles and junior guard Vanessa House each scored 17 points for the winners. The victory enabled the Mountaineers to match the best start in school history, tying the 1991-92 team that was also 20-2.

West Virginia trailed by four at the intermission, but opened the second half with a 15-4 run to go up seven, but Louisville used its own run to close the gap to one. Repella hit a layup and House a 3-pointers to extend the lead to six.

Sophomore forward Monique Reid scored a career-high 29 points for Louisville.

No. 10 Oklahoma State (18-3, 6-1 Big 12) sent Texas A&M (15-4, 3-3 Big 12) out of the top 10 rankings with a 67-63 upset win on the road on Sunday.

Senior guard Andrea Riley, a Gballmag.com preseason All-American, scored 31 points despite early foul problems. The Cowgirls trailed by a many as 14 points in the second half before Riley, playing with three fouls, led the comeback with 27 points in the final 20 minutes.

The Aggies led by three before a 3-pointer by Riley tied it at 61-all. Riley stole the ball on the next A& M possession, and junior guard Precious Robinson's layup gave the Cowgirls their first lead with 1:03 remaining. Robinson added a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left to increase the lead to 65-61.

Texas A&M was in front 26-14 with 3 minutes to go before the break, but the visitors scored six of the last eight points of the first half to cut the Aggies halftime lead to 28-20. A&M was led by junior forward/center Danielle Adams with 24 points.

Senior forward Tegan Cunningham had 18 points and 14 rebounds for Oklahoma State, and Robinson added 10 points.

There's an outstanding doubleheader scheduled for television on Monday night, Feb. 8. In the first game, North Carolina travels to Duke for an important ACC clash at 7 p.m., followed by in-state rivals Tennessee at Vanderbilt going at it in SEC competition at 9 p.m. Both games can be seen on ESPN2.

The 2009-10 Gballmag.com Weekly Poll
1. UConn (22-0)
2. Stanford (19-1)
3. Notre Dame (20-1)
4. Nebraska (19-0)
5. Tennessee (19-2)
6. Duke (18-3)
7. Ohio State (21-3)
8. Xavier (16-3)
9. West Virginia (20-3)
10. Oklahoma State (18-3)

Also receiving recognition (in alphabetical order): Baylor (15-5), Florida State (19-4), Georgetown (19-3), Georgia (18-4), Iowa State (17-4), Kentucky (18-3), LSU (15-5); North Carolina (16-4), Oklahoma (15-5), St. John 's (18-3), Texas (14-6), Texas A&M (15-4), Vanderbilt (16-6), Virginia (15-6), , Wisconsin-Green Bay (18-2).

Last week's Top 10
1. UConn (20-0)
2. Stanford (17-1)
3. Notre Dame (17-1)
4. Tennessee (17-2)
5. Ohio State (20-2)
6. Nebraska (17-0)
7. Duke (17-3)
8. Texas A&M (15-2)
9. Georgia (18-2)
10. Xavier (14-3)

Dave Wohlhueter is Gball's WNBA and women's college game expert. He is a former Sports Information Director at Cornell University, as well as a member of the school's Hall of Fame. He worked in media relations at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He was named the winner of College Sports Information Directors of America's 2007 Bob Kenworthy Good Person Award, which annually is awarded to a CoSIDA member for civic involvement and accomplishments outside the sports information office.