Notre Dame headlines post–Presidents’ Day women’s hoops vibe check

The GIST: When it comes to individual players, no one’s hotter than the aforementioned Mikayla Blakes right now. But it’s teams that win championships — and as the postseason looms, a few squads are red-hot while others are decidedly not.

🔥 No. 1 Notre Dame Fighting Irish: The Irish seized the top spot in the AP Poll for the first time since 2019 on Monday, then immediately proved why with a 64–49 rout of No. 11 Duke, their 18th straight dub. ND continues to boast the country’s best backcourt thanks to guards and SLAM covergirls Olivia Miles and Hannah Hidalgo — watch out, world.

🔥 No. 2 Texas Longhorns: There’s a new sheriff in town! Texas has been absolutely crushing their first season in the big, bad SEC, racking up their third straight top-10 conference W with Sunday’s 65–58 victory over No. 7 LSU. Led by walking bucket Madison Booker, who recorded her sixth double-double of the season in that game, it’s unclear if anyone can stop the Longhorns at this point.

🔥 No. 5 UConn Huskies: Even as parity skyrockets across the league, the OG women’s hoops dynasty is proving they’re still top dawg. They handed powerhouse No. 6 South Carolina their first home loss since December 3rd, 2020 (!!!) on Sunday, and it wasn’t even close. Guard Azzi Fudd brought the most bark for the Huskies, earning her national Player of the Week honors.

❄️ No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats: Big Blue Nation’s hopes soared when Kentucky poached head coach Kenny Brooks and star point guard Georgia Amoore from Virginia Tech. But the new regime hit a major snag last week, suffering one upset loss and one blowout, which dropped them six spots in Monday’s poll and likely put them out of the running for the No. 1 seed in the SEC tournament. Womp womp.