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Colorado and Southern Cal women’s basketball make statements in Week 3 Power 10 rankings

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Week 1 of women’s college basketball was a thriller, and Week 2 was just as chaotic. Let’s get into Autumn Johnson’s latest Power 10 rankings and weekly awards.

Player of the Week

After her lights-out performance against Iowa, I’m choosing Kansas State center Ayoka Lee as my Player of the Week. The senior’s double-double — 22 points and 12 rebounds — took down the No. 2 Hawkeyes in their house.


Week 3 Power 10

1. South Carolina (Previous: 1)

The Gamecocks scored 114 points vs. Clemson en route to their third win of the season.

2. UCLA (4)

UCLA outlasted a tough Princeton defense on Friday to remain untouchable, 77-74.

3. Colorado (NR)

Since knocking down the reigning champs, the Buffs are still perfect, now at 5-0.

4. Southern California (NR)

The Trojans are undefeated with a quality win over FGCU, who frequents good runs in the NCAA postseason.

5. Stanford (8)

Surviving unranked Duke in overtime moves Stanford up.

6. UConn (5)

UConn bounced back against No. 20 Maryland, holding the Terps under 50 points.

7. LSU (3)

The Tigers tacked on a pair of wins over Southeastern Louisiana and Kent State this week. Their next opportunity to climb is in the SEC-ACC Challenge on Nov. 30.

8. Iowa (2)

Iowa slips down six rankings after suffering an upset to unranked Kansas State. But the Hawkeyes did bounce back Sunday with balanced scoring attack against a tough Drake team that recently defeated Iowa State.

9. Virginia Tech (7)

The Hokies’ only loss is from Iowa; Georgia Amoore broke the program assist record this week, dishing out 16 dimes against Houston Christian.

10. Utah (6)

The Utes took a hit this week, falling to No. 21 Baylor, 77-84.

Watch out for Florida State… The Noles are looking to break in with wins over two SEC foes.


Games to watch in Week 3

Gather the family around the TV, because you’re going to want all eyes glued to some very competitive games starting Thanksgiving Day.

All times in ET

UCLA vs. UConn | Nov. 24 | 7:30 p.m.

There’s madness going down in the Cayman Islands as UCLA will have its first ranked game against UConn. Charisma Osborne vs. Paige Bueckers is going to be a stellar guard matchup. 

Princeton vs. Oklahoma | Nov. 23 | 4 p.m. Princeton vs. Indiana | Nov. 25 | 11 a.m.

Princeton recently took UCLA to the wire, and now head down to Fort Myers to face more ranked opponents in Oklahoma and Indiana.

Tennessee vs. Indiana | Nov. 23 | 6 p.m. & Tennessee vs. Oklahoma | Nov. 25 | 1:30 p.m.

The injury bug is sprawling around Tennessee, but hopefully the Lady Vols can hold up against Indiana and Oklahoma down in Fort Myers as well. 

Colorado vs. NC State | Nov. 25 | 1 p.m.

Colorado faces NC State in the Virgin Islands on Saturday afternoon. I expect to see Jaylyn Sherrod and Saniya Rivers giving each other buckets all game long. 

Louisville vs. Gonzaga | Nov. 26 | 1 p.m.

Louisville has a touch matchup against Gonzaga down in Texas. The Truong twins and the Zags are looking to pull off their first upset of the year. 

We Speak WNBA

Caitlin Clark attendance boon: Some WNBA teams look for bigger arenas when the Fever come to town

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Some are booking bigger venues for when Clark and the Indiana Fever come to town.

The Las Vegas Aces and Washington Mystics have moved their games against the Fever to bigger arenas. The numbers Clark generated in college indicates it’s a smart move.

While at Iowa, when the No. 1 pick in the draft and the Hawkeyes went on the road this past season, they played in front of sellout crowds or set attendance records.

“She helps ticket sales, so I think it’s a really great time to have eyes. She’s going to be an elite player,” Aces coach Becky Hammon said. “She has been in college. She’s done stuff in college that nobody else has. She’s going to be a great player in the W. There’s no doubt about it.

“So the more people we can pack into the building to cheer against her, we’ll take it, although I don’t know if they’ll be cheering against her,” Hammon quipped. “I guess they might be cheering for her.”

The two-time reigning WNBA champion Aces relocated their game on May 25 from the 12,000-seat Michelob Ultra Arena to the 18,000-seat T-Mobile Arena.

Aces players credit Clark, but also know that their own team, which has won the past two WNBA championships, has done a great job increasing attendance at games over the past few seasons.

“We’re not rolling out any red carpet. We’re here to be a business and sell a lot of tickets. Kudos to her (Clark), but we also have done that in previous years in big games as well,” Las Vegas guard Kelsey Plum said. “There are a lot of people that play basketball. People are coming to watch A’ja Wilson. People are going to watch Chelsea Gray.

“That’s not a slight on anyone, but I’m saying that’s not for her. We played in Chicago last year. We sold it out last year.”

Clark will make her preseason debut on Friday night at Dallas — a game that is already sold out.

The Mystics game against Indiana on June 7 will be played at Capital One Arena — Washington’s old home. Their normal home, the Entertainment and Sports Arena, can seat up to 4,200 fans, but the Capital One Arena has a maximum basketball capacity of more than 20,000.

Nearly half of WNBA teams play in NBA arenas, so there’s no need to move those games.

Still, a few others that don’t are feeling a push to move games to larger arenas, including the Chicago Sky. The Sky and Angel Reese play their home games in the 10,000-seat Wintrust Arena. Fans started a petition to move their first home game against Indiana to the bigger United Center. There’s a concert scheduled at that arena on June 23 when the Fever come to town — so that’s not going to happen.

The Los Angeles Sparks are another team that could move their game against Indiana.

The Sparks are playing their first five home games at Long Beach because of arena conflicts from construction and the NBA and NHL playoffs. They are hosting the Fever on May 24, which is scheduled to be played at Long Beach. The team’s first five games will be played there in a 4,000-seat arena.

The Sparks have played games in the past at USC and there’s always a chance they could move the Indiana game there. The Sparks said they have nothing official to report when asked about moving the game.

The Atlanta Dream, who also play in a smaller venue that seats only 3,500, host Clark and the Fever on June 21. The team hasn’t said whether it’s exploring trying to move to a bigger arena yet.

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