A month ago, it was fair to question Georgia’s legitimacy in women’s college basketball this season.
While the Bulldogs finished non-conference play undefeated with a 14-0 mark, they played one of the easiest schedules in the country. If one were to measure non-conference strength of schedule by the NET of the opponents a team faced, Georgia ranked 338th out of the 363 teams that play Division I women’s college basketball. That’s the worst non-conference schedule in the SEC this season, and only three Power 4 teams played softer non-conference schedules: UCF, Arizona and Wake Forest.
But Katie Abrahamson-Henderson’s Bulldogs have proved their worth in SEC play. They’re 4-3 in arguably the toughest conference in the sport with two wins over ranked opponents, Ole Miss and Kentucky. With two Quad 1 wins and a NET of 32, Georgia is in position to make the NCAA Tournament.
And for the first time this season, the Bulldogs are ranked in the USA Today Sports women’s basketball coaches poll, breaking in at No. 25.
Georgia is one of 10 SEC squads ranked in the poll this week, which leads all conferences.
The SEC also had the two biggest movers this week.
Kentucky slid six spots to No. 18 after losing to Tennessee and Georgia. Since starter Teonni Key was sidelined with an elbow injury, the Wildcats have lost four of their last six games.
The largest riser in this week’s poll was Oklahoma, which improved five spots to No. 11 after taking down South Carolina and Auburn last week. So far this season, the Sooners have been powered by freshman phenom Aaliyah Chavez, and they’re 12-0 when she shoots 32% or better from the floor. Against the Gamecocks, she scored 26 points – 15 of them in overtime – and dished out a season-high eight assists.
Elsewhere in the poll, Maryland fell three spots to No. 16, and UCLA is the new No. 2 after leaping South Carolina. Iowa State dropped out, and Duke remained just on the outside, receiving one less vote than Georgia for the final spot in the top 25.