UConn is back on top of women’s basketball, winning its 12th national championship by routing defending champion South Carolina 82-59 behind Azzi Fudd’s 24 points.

Kellie Harper has been hired as the new women's basketball coach at Missouri.

Former NBA player Michael Carter-Williams is hoping to get a WNBA franchise in Boston whether it’s through expansion or bringing in a current team that wants to move.

The chairman of the NHL’s Nashville Predators and his wife want to bring the WNBA to Music City and have teamed up with a star-filled investor group including Candace Parker, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and entertainers Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.

Caitlin Clark scored 32 points, moving into fourth place on the all-time women’s basketball scoring list, as No. 2 Iowa defeated Wisconsin 96-50 on Tuesday.

The Big East Conference honored Georgetown coach Tasha Butts, who died Monday after a two-year battle with breast cancer.

Two-time Olympic gold-medalist and former ABL MVP Nikki McCray-Penson has died.

LSU won its first basketball title in school history, overcoming Caitlin Clark and Iowa 102-85 in the national championship game.

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer stands atop The Associated Press women’s basketball poll with the most appearances all-time, breaking a tie with the late Pat Summitt.

Rebeka Mikulasikova scored a career-high 31 points and Taylor Mikesell added 30 to help No. 4 Ohio State beat Rutgers 82-70 on a day the Scarlet Knights honored former coach C.

South Carolina remains the unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll.

Hailey Van Lith had 23 points and six assists, Emily Engstler had 20 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 1 seed Louisville held off Tennessee 76-64 in the women's NCAA Tournament to reach the Elite Eight for the fourth consecutive time.

Although your favorite team may or may not still be dancing, the NCAA Tournament continues on, with Sweet 16 games running through the weekend.

UConn’s record 16-year run in the top 10 is over.

Haley Jones scored 17 points and Stanford beat Arizona 54-53, giving the Cardinal and coach Tara VanDerveer their first national championship in 29 years.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley confers with forward Aliyah Boston on the sideline during the second half of the team's NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State in Starkville, Miss., Thursday, Jan. 28, 2021. 1 in The Associated Press women's college basketball poll. South Carolina, which originally fell from the top spot after losing to North Carolina State, beat the Huskies last season for the first time in eight tries. Here are other tidbits from the poll:MILESTONEMonday marked the 800th women's college basketball poll in the AP's history. Ad___More AP women's college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

(AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack, File)CHICAGO – Candace Parker talked about seeing her grandmother hold up the newspaper during their call, thrilled she is coming home to play for the Chicago Sky. “I'm so excited to be home and I say that from the bottom of my heart,” Parker said during a Zoom conference Tuesday. “When she decided, she told me even before, ‘If I come, I’m coming to ball,'” he said. She said she started thinking about playing for the Sky a few weeks ago and would not have left Los Angeles for any other team. “(I) have obviously evolved, and a lot of it had to do with me living in Knoxville and me living in Los Angeles and Russia and Istanbul and China.

The Huskies routed Butler 103-35 on Tuesday, giving Auriemma his 1,099th win. “I wish she were still coaching and I wish I had to work a lot harder to catch her,” Auriemma said. Christyn Williams and Aubrey Griffin, who made her first start, each scored 17 points for unbeaten UConn (8-0, 7-0 Big East). Okako Adika scored 18 points for Butler (1-9, 1-8), despite spending most of the game in foul trouble, and Genesis Parker added 15 points. UConn: The Huskies heads to Knoxville for the first time in 15 years to face No.

3 UConn overcame a sluggish start to rout Providence 87-50 on Saturday to give Auriemma his 1,098th win. They trailed 7-1 midway through the first quarter, prompting Auriemma to sub out his starters, with the exception of Bueckers. “I was proud of how our team handled themselves when Mary had to sit down early with foul trouble,” Providence coach Jim Crowley said. Providence: The Friars had been holding other teams to just 60.5 points per game. UConn: The Huskies were expected to face Xavier on Wednesday, but the Musketeers were forced to suspend basketball activities because of COVID-19.

Baylor head coach Kim Mulkey is shown during the second half of an NCAA women's college basketball game against South Florida Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2020, in Tampa, Fla. No. 3 UConn after Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey tested positive for COVID-19. 3 UConn after Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey tested positive for COVID-19. Baylor said it began restricting team activities after Mulkey tested positive on Monday, the same day she had been planning to rejoin the team. Mulkey missed Baylor's win Saturday at TCU because of contact tracing after being exposed on Christmas Day to a family member who tested positive.

Stanford forward Francesca Belibi, left, dunks against UCLA during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Monday, Dec. 21, 2020, in Los Angeles. Teammate Anna Wilson told her she was good to go, so Belibi stormed the paint and dunked, delighting her Stanford teammates. 1 Stanford survive its closest game of the season to beat 10th-ranked UCLA 61-49 on Monday and remain undefeated. Stanford cruised past its first six opponents, winning by a whopping 48.2 points per game while scoring an average of 93.2 points. UCLA: The Bruins are off for nearly two weeks before visiting Oregon State on Jan. 1 in their second Pac-12 road trip.

Oregon State lost its lone game last week, falling to Washington State and dropping out of the poll from No. 1 for the third consecutive week. Louisville, UConn, North Carolina State and South Carolina followed the Cardinal again in the poll. Michigan State replaced Oregon State in the poll, coming in at No. South Carolina (157), Mississippi State (120) and Louisville (93) are the only other teams that had longer active streaks than Oregon State's.

Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer, center, watches the action against Pacific during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stockton, Calif., Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2020. With a win over Pacific, VanDerveer will become the winningest women's coach in history breaking Pat Summitt's record of 1,098. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli)STOCKTON, Calif. – Tara VanDerveer became the winningest women's college basketball coach Tuesday night, passing the late Pat Summitt with her 1,099th victory as No. “I really hope Pat Summitt is looking down and saying, ‘Good job Tara, keep it going,’” VanDerveer said. FROM ONE COACH TO ANOTHERDavid Shaw, Stanford’s 10th-year football coach, considers VanDerveer among the best ever in any sport, at any level — man or woman.

So, when VanDerveer tied the late Hall of Famer as winningest women's coaches in history with 1,098 victories Sunday night, Dec. 13, 2020, she quickly credited Summitt for helping her get there. “If I tied this record with her, she helped me do it, because of playing against her teams. And consider what VanDerveer's win total could be: She took a year away from Stanford to coach the 1996 Olympic team. Her drive, consistency and passion are the foundations for success,” said Tucker, who also played for VanDerveer at Ohio State. With a young, talented team currently, VanDerveer would like nothing more than to bring home another title before she's through.

(AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)Stanford remained atop The Associated Press women's basketball poll released Monday and picked up first-place votes, too. “I just would like to say to everybody, basketball was invented as, always has been and always will be a great team sport," she said. It’s been about great, great, great assistant coaches that have worked extremely hard for our program and it’s about having great players. Louisville, UConn, N.C. State and South Carolina followed Stanford as the first five remained unchanged in their position. ___More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/Womenscollegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

When Cal public address announcer Matt Foley congratulated VanDerveer’s achievement after the final buzzer and Stanford’s players clapped, VanDerveer shooed them toward the locker room. “Y’all might want to check this out,” former Stanford star Chiney Ogwumike, now with the WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks, posted on Twitter with a link to the video. Freshman Cameron Brink contributed 16 points and seven rebounds for the Cardinal (4-0, 2-0 Pac-12) while Haley Jones had eight points, six rebounds and four assists. Stanford held its first three opponents to 26.8% shooting, then Cal shot only 23% and committed 33 turnovers. California: Cal barely avoided the program's lowest points totals scored against Stanford — 35, twice.

WELCOME BACKSouth Dakota State is ranked for the first time in 11 years, entering the Top 25 at No. South Dakota State replaced Iowa State, which dropped out. MOVERS AND SHAKERSBesides South Carolina's drop, Baylor slid three spots, UCLA fell two places to No. KEEP AN EYE ONSouth Florida is just outside the Top 25 after an overtime victory over Mississippi State. ___More AP women’s basketball: https://apnews.com/Womenscollegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25It's the second time in two years that Stanford has reached the top position in

North Carolina State players celebrate with the coaching staff after an NCAA college basketball game against South Carolina Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, in Columbia, S.C. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)NEW YORK – It didn't take long for there to be a new No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll. Because it’s early in the season, there are a few teams that have a good shot to ascend to the top, including the Wolfpack. “That was a big win the other night but there's a lot of teams playing well,” N.C. State coach Wes Moore said. 1 in the women’s basketball poll, so history isn’t on their side.

FILE - This is a June 21, 1997, file photo showing New York Liberty coach Nancy Darsch yelling instructions to her players during the inaugural WNBA basketball game, against the Los Angeles Sparks in Inglewood, Calif. Darsch, who guided the Ohio State women's basketball team to the 1993 title game and went on to coach in the WNBA, died Monday, Nov. 2, 2020, in her hometown of Plymouth, Massachusetts. (AP photo/Kevork Djansezian, FIler)Nancy Darsch, who guided the Ohio State women's basketball team to the 1993 title game and went on to coach in the WNBA, has died. Ohio State went 28-4 in during the 1992-93 season and lost to Texas Tech 84-82 in the NCAA championship game. She will be dearly missed.”After her stay in Columbus, Darsch went to the WNBA and was the inaugural coach of the New York Liberty in 1997.

Kara Lawson has always wanted to coach at Duke a fact the first-time college coach hadn't shared with many people. Thats how highly I thought of the institution and the job," Lawson said on an introductory Zoom call Monday. Mom was the one who wanted me to go to Duke, Lawson said. I wanted to become a coach and learn from the best and that led me to Knoxville, Lawson said. Lawson knows one of her first tasks will be to hire assistants.

Duke has turned to Boston Celtics assistant coach and former WNBA All-Star Kara Lawson to lead its womens basketball program. Lawson played in the WNBA from 2003-15 and won the 2005 championship with Sacramento. She had also worked as a TV commentator for NBA and college basketball games before the Celtics hired her in June 2019. Itll be up to Lawson to shake things up and give the Duke program a jolt. ___More AP womens basketball: https://apnews.com/Womenscollegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25___Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap