Dec. 18 Women's AP Top 25: Unbeaten Washington, TCU Join The Mix

Newcomers to the Associated Press Top 25 in the penultimate poll of 2023 include undefeated TCU, and Washington with the Huskies facing a major test.

Dec 19, 2023 by Kyle Kensing

Dec. 18 Women's AP Top 25: Unbeaten Washington, TCU Join The Mix

The Dec. 18 Associated Press Top 25 saw minimal shake-up from the previous week, though there was some movement in the last few spots after a noteworthy upset.

Shortly after moving into the poll on the strength of its undefeated start, UNLV was bumped out of the Top 25 following an 84-54 loss on Dec. 16 at Seton Hall. The rout marked Seton Hall's fourth consecutive win, improving the Pirates to 8-3 on the season — and resulting in an ice-water bath for coach Anthony Bozzella.

When you beat the 23rd-ranked team in the country by 30 points...@MarchMadnessWBB @BIGEASTWBB pic.twitter.com/8L5ZGHEXs6
— Seton Hall Women’s Basketball (@SHUWBB) December 16, 2023

Seton Hall's a team to keep an eye out for in future AP Polls. Its two most recent losses came in a 75-71, double-overtime thriller against then-No. 25-ranked Princeton, and a hard-fought 64-54 decision vs. current No. 6 USC at the Baha Mar Hoops Pink Flamingo Championship.

With the BIG EAST Conference again boasting three Top 25-ranked teams, Seton Hall can anticipate plenty more opportunities to make its mark against top competition. Among the trio is Marquette, which stayed perfect with wins in the past week over Appalachian State and a 76-70 thriller vs. league rival Creighton.

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Marquette rallied with a 22-15 fourth quarter, during which Liza Karlen scored eight of her team-high 25 points. Karlen also grabbed 12 rebounds for the double-double in the Golden Eagles' best resume win to date.

"I know I have Frannie [Hottinger] and I know I have Jordan [King], and they're crashing for rebounds every time, and they know that I'm crashing for them," Karlen said in the postgame press conference of taking high-pressure shots down the stretch, though added: "All 1-through-5 of us, every single person, who steps in or subs into the game [is] very confident to shoot their shot.

"I really believe that we don't have one main scorer, two main scorers on this team," Karlen continued. "We can roll five deep all the time, and that's something I'm very proud of this year."

Marquette's scoring depth shined with Mackenzie Hare, Rose Nkumu and King all adding double-figures scoring, while Hottinger scored eight points and grabbed eight rebounds.

They combined to overcome an outstanding effort from Emma Ronsiek, who scored 29 points for Creighton. Despite the loss, the Bluejays remain in the Top 25 tied for No. 21 with Florida State.

The Seminoles bounced back from a loss to No. 2-ranked UCLA on Dec. 10 with an impressive performance last Sunday at Drexel. The 76 points Florida State scored in a 20-point win were the most an outstanding Dragons defense has allowed all season.

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Florida State and Creighton head up the quintet occupying the final five spots in this week's AP Top 25, joining a pair of undefeated newcomers in Washington and TCU.

The Huskies' ascent to the poll at No. 23, in part on the strength of a 60-55 defeat of then-No. 21-ranked rival Washington State on Dec. 10, gives the Pac-12 Conference its sixth ranked teams this week, and seventh different squad in the rankings this season.

Washington faces another Top 25 challenge this week, traveling to No. 19 Louisville on Wednesday in one of the marquee games leading up to Christmas. Louisville is one of six ACC teams in the poll this week along with Florida State, No. 24 North Carolina No. 15 Virginia Tech, No. 14 Notre Dame and No. 3 North Carolina State.

The ACC and Pac-12 tie for the most representation in the Dec. 18 rankings, while the Big 12 is second with its four Top 25 teams: No. 5 Texas, No. 10 Baylor, No. 12 Kansas State, and rounding out the poll with its first appearance of the season. No. 25 TCU.

Hello, Top 25 👋#GoFrogs pic.twitter.com/1Trj2oO97r
— TCU Women’s Basketball (@tcuwbb) December 18, 2023

TCU moved to 11-0 following a 68-51 rout of Lamar, the Horned Frogs' fourth consecutive win by 17-plus points. They wrap up non-conference this week with home games against Omaha and Mount St. Mary's, and should still be perfect beginning Big 12 play on Dec. 30 against BYU.

The only conference with fewer than three teams ranked this week is the West Coast Conference with Gonzaga. The Bulldogs moved up, however, to No. 20. They face a test on Wednesday when they visit Arizona for a matinee showdown.