Honestly, if you're only checking the Top 25 to see who won last night, you're missing the real story of this season. Most people think women’s college hoops is just a few elite teams blowing everyone else out by forty points. That might have been the case five years ago, but the 2025-26 season has been a total mess for the favorites.
Lately, NCAA women's basketball scores have started looking like a minefield for the blue bloods. Take a look at this past week. We saw LSU take down an undefeated Texas squad 70-65 on January 11th. Then you’ve got Kentucky dropping a game to Alabama but bouncing back to beat a Top-10 Oklahoma team. It’s chaotic. It’s unpredictable.
And that’s exactly why the scoreboard is lying to you if you aren't looking at the context.
Why the Final NCAA Women's Basketball Scores Don't Tell the Whole Story
Scores are basically just the tip of the iceberg. You see a final of 62-55 and think, "Oh, a close game." But if you watched Maryland beat USC on January 15th, you saw a Trojans team playing without their heartbeat. JuJu Watkins being sidelined has completely shifted the power dynamic in the Big Ten.
The injury bug isn't just hitting USC. Iowa State has looked like a different team with Addy Brown on the bench, recently dropping three straight games. When you see their scores dip into the 50s, it’s not because the talent vanished; it’s because the chemistry is fractured.
The Saturday Slate (January 17, 2026)
If you were tracking games yesterday, a few results probably jumped off the screen:
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- TCU handled Arizona 78-62. This Horned Frogs team is no joke this year, sitting at 17-1 and climbing the ranks.
- Baylor grinded out a 69-58 win over BYU in Provo. Winning on the road in the Big 12 is becoming a nightmare.
- Princeton absolutely stifled Dartmouth, holding them to just 41 points.
- Kansas State managed to escape Lubbock with a 65-59 win over Texas Tech.
Seeing Texas Tech finally take a loss is wild. They were sitting at 18-0 before the mid-week games, proving that even the most "surprising" undefeated starts eventually run into the reality of conference play.
The "UConn Problem" and the New Undefeateds
It’s kinda funny—everyone spent all summer talking about how UConn was back. And, well, they are. Geno Auriemma has the Huskies sitting at 17-0 with a 34-game winning streak dating back to last year. They haven't had a single-digit game since November. Sarah Strong and Azzi Fudd are playing like they’re from another planet.
But look at who is chasing them. Vanderbilt is also 18-0. Read that again. The Commodores are currently one of the few remaining perfect teams in Division I. If you haven't been watching their scores, you're behind. They aren't just winning; they are dominating SEC opponents like Missouri (99-68) and Texas A&M (91-51).
Then you have South Carolina. They have one loss on the season, but they are still the "final boss" of the SEC. Their 65-43 win over Georgia last week showed that even when they aren't shooting perfectly, their defense is a brick wall.
The Ranking Shift: Who is Actually Safe?
The AP Poll is basically a revolving door right now.
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- UConn (Unanimous #1)
- South Carolina
- UCLA
- Texas (Dropped after that LSU loss)
- Vanderbilt
Under the radar, Michigan and TCU are the teams making the biggest jumps. Meanwhile, legacy programs like Stanford and North Carolina are struggling to stay in the conversation. Stanford recently lost to Duke 67-60, though they did bounce back against Boston College.
The parity is real. You can't just look at a team's name anymore and assume the outcome. Notre Dame, for example, is sitting at #23 after a tough loss to Louisville. They have to face UConn tomorrow, January 19th. If Hannah Hidalgo—who is averaging over 25 points per game—can't find a way to crack the Husky defense, that score could get ugly fast.
What You Should Actually Look for in the Box Scores
When you’re scouring the web for NCAA women's basketball scores, stop just looking at the "F." Here’s what matters for your bracket or your fandom:
Points Off Turnovers
Look at the Texas Tech vs. Houston game from earlier this week. Texas Tech forced 27 turnovers. They only shot 37%, but because they lived in the passing lanes, they won by 12. If a team is winning despite poor shooting, they are dangerous.
The "JuJu" Factor (Star Availability)
Always check the "minutes played" for stars. If a top team like UCLA or LSU wins but their star played 39 minutes in a blowout, they might be tired for the next game.
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Free Throw Disparity
In the SEC, teams like LSU and South Carolina live at the line. If you see a score where a team lost by 5 but was outshot at the charity stripe by 15, that’s a discipline issue, not a talent issue.
Real Examples of the "Mid-Major" Threat
Don't sleep on the Ivy League or the American Athletic Conference. Rice is 14-3 and currently 4-0 in conference play. They just beat North Texas 58-54. These aren't high-scoring affairs, but they are tactical masterclasses.
And then there's Princeton. They are 14-1 and ranked #22 in the AP Poll. They aren't just a "good mid-major" anymore; they are a legitimate threat to win a couple of rounds in March. Their scores are consistently low because they play at a snail's pace and force you to play half-court defense for 30 seconds every possession.
Actionable Steps for Hoops Fans
If you want to stay ahead of the curve as we move toward February, do these three things:
- Track the "Next Four Out": Check the teams receiving votes but not ranked (like West Virginia or Duke). Their scores often indicate a team about to go on a run.
- Watch the Monday/Thursday Slates: These are the big TV nights for women's hoops. Tomorrow’s UConn vs. Notre Dame game is the barometer for the entire ACC/Big East power structure.
- Focus on Net Rating: The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) rankings matter more for tournament seeding than the AP Poll. A team might have "bad" scores but a high NET because of their strength of schedule.
The landscape is shifting. Gone are the days when you could check the scores once a week and know exactly what was happening. Between the transfer portal and the sheer level of freshman talent like Sarah Strong, the scoreboard is moving faster than ever. Stay locked in on the specific matchups, because the upsets are only going to get more frequent as we hit the heart of conference play.
Keep an eye on the LSU at Oklahoma and Louisville at NC State games scheduled for later today. Those final tallies will likely shake up the Top 10 by Monday morning. Check the results late tonight to see if the favorites survived a heavy Sunday of road games.