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Lady Coogs vault to No. 21

By Christian Schmidt
The Daily Cougar

For the first time in quite a while, the top of The Associated Press poll didn't change. The top six teams -- Texas, Connecticut, Tennessee, Duke, Purdue and Louisiana Tech -- all maintained their positions from last week.

UH jumped to No. 21, a four-slot improvement from last week.

There was considerable change at the bottom of the poll, with four new teams jumping into the top 25. Miami (22), Boston College (23), Oklahoma (24) and Utah (25) all climbed into the rankings. All four teams were ranked earlier this season. Michigan State dropped three spots to No. 20, the largest drop of any team.

TCU jumps up

After two wins last weekend in which the Lady Horned Frogs scored at least 100 points, Texas Christian jumped up five spots in the poll this week to No. 17. That was the largest change in the poll.

The Lady Horned Frogs beat East Carolina 125-119 in a triple-overtime game Friday and then beat Charlotte 100-91 Sunday. TCU has won four consecutive games after an 89-84 loss to South Florida on Feb. 2. 

Whalen gone

When Minnesota lost senior guard Lindsey Whalen, it lost more than just one spot in the rankings, as the team dropped to No. 11 from No. 10. It also lost its leading scorer and, most likely, its shot at a deep run in the NCAA Women's Tournament.

Whalen broke her hand in a 75-57 loss to Ohio State on Thursday and will likely be out for six weeks, effectively ending her season. Minnesota beat Illinois 63-54 in the team's first game without Whalen.

Whalen, a 5-8 shooting guard, led the team in scoring with 20.8 points per game and in assists with 4.8 per game. She also averaged 5.0 rebounds per game. 

Auburn protects the home front

The Lady Tigers just can't lose at home. With a 69-58 win over South Carolina, No. 14 Auburn has won 16 consecutive games at Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum. The Lady Tigers have not lost a home game this season.

Auburn is in third place in the Southeastern Conference.

Big games

There are several big games in women's basketball this week, including a showdown between No. 1 Texas and No. 9 Texas Tech on Sunday. The Lady 'Horns have been No. 1 in the last two polls after not being ranked in the top spot for more than a decade.

Texas Tech fell two spots after losing to No. 24 Oklahoma 68-62 on Feb. 10.

Another big game features two Conference USA teams -- No. 13 DePaul and No. 21 Houston, who will face off at 7 p.m. Friday at Hofheinz Pavilion.

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