USC women (No. 6) reach highest AP Top 25 ranking since 1994 - ESPN

Stellar freshman JuJu Watkins has helped USC climb the AP Top 25 to the team's best ranking in 29 years.

The Trojans moved up to sixth in the Associated Press women's basketball poll Monday, its highest mark since the 1994 season when they reached No. 4. Watkins has been a huge reason why, already with three 30-point-plus games this season to match the school record for freshmen held by Trojan greats Lisa Leslie and Paula McGee.

«We had a challenging schedule early, and we met those challenges,» USC coach Lindsay Gottlieb said. «Obviously JuJu is so phenomenal, to see her adapt to the college game and adapt as quickly is so impressive.»

First-place votes in parentheses.

South Carolina remained the unanimous choice at No. 1 from the 36-member national media panel. The Gamecocks cruised to two easy wins over the Thanksgiving holiday.

UCLA, Stanford, Iowa and NC State round out the top five.

UCLA, Stanford and Iowa all had successful runs in holiday tournaments last week. The Bruins beat UConn for the first time in school history, topping the Huskies in the inaugural Cayman Islands Classic.

The Wolfpack knocked off another top-five opponent, routing then-No. 3 Colorado in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Coach Wes Moore's squad has gone from being unranked in the preseason poll to fifth.

«We were picked to finish eighth in the ACC, and we weren't ranked two weeks ago,» Moore said. «It's what I've been telling them: 'Stay hungry, stay hungry and keep doing what you've been doing.' Right now, they're putting the team first, and not caring who gets the credit.»

Colorado fell into a tie for seventh with LSU. The Buffaloes knocked off the then-No. 1 Tigers to start the season.

Virginia Tech is ninth and Texas 10th. The Longhorns host