How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: How far did UConn drop after Maryland loss?

It has been a quieter week across women's basketball, at least when it comes to results.

The biggest news story by far last week in the women's basketball sphere was the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner. After being detained for 10 months in Russia, Griner is finally home thanks to a prisoner exchange made by the Joe Biden administration. It's a moment women's basketball fans have held their breath for and Griner's return to the U.S. is a massive relief.

Now, back to college basketball.

WEEK 4:How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Louisville joins preseason top 10 graveyard

WEEK 3:How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Is Tennessee still ranked?

WEEK 3:How Lady Vols writer Cora Hall voted in the AP Top 25: Tennessee, Texas tumble after losses

The biggest game of the week was Maryland vs. a severely shorthanded UConn. It was a good win for Maryland, but the Huskies were working with seven players and without Azzi Fudd and Nika Mühl due to injury. The Terps won 85-78 at home and remain the most confusing ranked team of the season.

Maryland beat Notre Dame on the road, then got destroyed by Nebraska at home. Then the Terps had to make a buzzer-beater three to avoid going to overtime with Purdue, but then beat UConn. Because of Maryland's ranked wins and the lack of quality wins by the middle of the pack, I put the Terps at No. 11, up four spots from where I had them last week. UConn drops only to No. 6 because of the short bench and ranked wins on its resume.

The Hawkeyes won the battle of Iowa, taking down Iowa State 70-57. It's Iowa's first ranked win of the season and Caitlin Clark and her Hawkeyes needed it. The result didn't inspire a lot of confidence in Iowa State, though, which has yet to win a significant game. The only other ranked team the Cyclones played is North Carolina and they lost. Iowa moved up three spots to No. 13 and Iowa State is down four spots to No. 15.

I have kept my eye on Kansas and was waiting to see it against some good competition. The Jayhawks proved themselves on Thursday when they pulled off a road upset against No. 12 Arizona. Kansas crushed the Wildcats 77-50 on their home court and improved to 9-0. That's enough to get the Jayhawks on my ballot at No. 22.

I had my reservations about Arizona, which had yet to be tested this season. The Wildcats dropped three spots to No. 20.

Stanford didn't play this week, but next week it'll face Tennessee on Sunday. The Lady Vols had a rough start to the season, but have begun to turn a corner and the matchup at Maples Pavilion is one I would put on your calendar.

AP Top 25 Week 5

1. South Carolina

2. Stanford

3. Indiana

4. Notre Dame

5. Ohio State

6. UConn

7. UCLA

8. N.C. State

9. North Carolina

10. Virginia Tech

11. Maryland

12. Creighton

13. Iowa

14. Utah

15. Iowa State

16. Oregon

17. Michigan

18. Baylor

19. LSU

20. Arizona

21. Gonzaga

22. Kansas

23. Arkansas

24. Marquette

25. Villanova

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: How far did UConn drop in Lady Vols writer Cora Hall's AP Top 25?