Madison Booker bent backward awkwardly under the basket, leaned against the stanchion and covered her face. The concern was brief.

The Texas star, as if flipping a switch, snapped into a smile and flashed the "Hook ’em Horns" at the baseline camera pointed toward her before rising to her feet to shoot a free throw. It was as stark of a contrast as her performances against South Carolina this season.

Playing teams twice in a season is rare now that realignment has created overly packed major conferences. Booker and Texas took advantage of it Sunday, learning from a 17-point dismantling to hand South Carolina its first regular-season conference loss since December 2021.

The result jostled the upper crust of teams in the Associated Press Top 25 and opened up the race for the SEC regular-season championship. South Carolina, winners of the last five conference titles, lost ground and is tied with LSU and Texas at 10-1. Kentucky is one game back at 8-1.

The Big 12 is also a three-way race after TCU upset Kansas State with Baylor joining them at 10-2. The Big Ten could tighten by the weekend, while the ACC runs through Notre Dame. With three weeks to go, every game and performance matters a little more.

Booker’s bounce-back sets up tight SEC race

The Gamecocks successfully limited Booker to seven points in their first meeting, a 67-50 South Carolina victory on Jan. 12. It was the fourth time in six games she had scored in single digits, a mini skid that wasn’t going to cut it for Texas in a defensively heavy SEC.

The Longhorns overcame the drop in production against Summit League leader South Dakota State, former Big 12 rival Oklahoma and SEC climber Alabama. They couldn’t when it came to South Carolina, the standard-bearer in not only the conference, but the country. To contend for a national title, Texas needs Booker’s best.

Since that loss, the sophomore is averaging 20.1 points with three double-doubles in eight games, including a 66-62 win over No. 2 South Carolina on Sunday. She had to work hard for it, shooting 31.8% (7-of-22) in a performance that was, efficiency-wise, only marginally better than her 3-of-19 outing in their first meeting. But she kept at it, going 6-of-7 at the free-throw line when she was 1-of-2 in the first game. She averages 4.5 free-throw attempts per game.

The adjustment was similarly strong for Taylor Jones, who scored 11 points in the first half Sunday after going scoreless in the first matchup. She played four minutes in the second half, handing the post duties to 6-foot-6 junior forward Kyla Oldacre (13 points). Texas outscored South Carolina, 40-26, in the paint.

LSU finds offense around Big 3

LSU’s offense runs primarily off a Bayou Big 3: Flau’jae Johnson (19.6 ppg), Aneesah Morrow (18.2 ppg) and Mikaylah Williams (17 ppg). Twice in 25 games heading into Sunday has a player other than those three led the team in scoring, prompting head coach Kim Mulkey to call for more from her bench.

Junior guard Kailyn Gilbert answered the call, scoring 23 points and shooting 46.7% (3-of-4 from 3) in an 82-77 win over Tennessee. She had 21 in the second half while Williams and Johnson dealt with foul trouble.

Gilbert, a transfer from Arizona, scored 22 in the first meeting a month ago and a season-high 25 in an overtime win over Stanford. She’s the only other LSU player averaging double digits in scoring (10.1) and provides Mulkey a punch off the bench.

The Tigers' bench outscored the Lady Vols, 36-6, no small feat against a Vols team that runs hockey lines to maintain a high pace. The game never moved to more than a 10-point margin and came down to the final minutes, where LSU soars and Tennessee typically falters.

UConn, Tennessee showcase small margin of error

The margin for error shrinks by the day. There are fewer opportunities to build or boost NCAA tournament résumés as the games go by, and the bracket can shift on one result. It did for UConn and Tennessee this week on each end of the top-16.

The Huskies (22-3, 13-0 Big East) fell behind in their quest for a No. 1 seed when they lost to Tennessee, 80-76, on Thursday. It was their first loss in the rivalry since 2007. They dropped to 3-3 in Quad 1 competition, giving ground to Texas (8-2) with USC (6-2) still in the mix. UCLA (6-0), South Carolina (10-1) and Notre Dame (5-2) are near locks for the top three seeds.

The final minute of the game turned on a minor miscue with the Huskies trailing by a bucket. Freshman forward Sarah Strong committed an unnecessary foul on Tennessee’s Zee Spearman near the sideline with 30.1 seconds left. UConn had a foul to give, but it reset the shot clock from nine seconds to 20. Tennessee killed the extra time and Spearman scored at the end of the possession for a four-point cushion with 15 on the clock.

The foul alone didn’t determine the game for UConn. Neither Paige Bueckers nor Azzi Fudd broke through offensively, combining for 24 points on 8-of-25 shooting and hearing about it afterward.

“I think we've talked a lot about the perception that when we play a really good team, you need contributions from your best players, and it's hard if you don't get that,” UConn head coach Geno Auriemma said. “… The bottom line is we have some players on our team that are supposed to be our best players, and they gotta play better.”

The duo answered with 37 points on 12-of-24 shooting against Providence on Sunday. Fudd went 5-of-6 from 3-point range. UConn can improve its chances with one final Quad 1 contest against South Carolina.

For the Lady Vols (17-6, 4-6 SEC), the win over UConn was a boost in their chase for a No. 4 seed, which would bring first-round tournament games back to Rocky Top. They continued their season-long yo-yo, losing to LSU on Sunday to put that seed in question once again. The opportunities for Tennessee are more plentiful with Kentucky, Alabama and Ole Miss on the schedule.

Stanford’s nearly three-decade tourney streak in jeopardy

Stanford is in danger of missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since 1987. The Cardinal (11-12, 3-9 ACC) have struggled in a new era and blew two chances this week to improve their stock. There are few left to keep their tournament hopes alive.

The Cardinal entered Thursday’s game at Notre Dame (21-2, 12-0) as steep underdogs and took another blow five minutes in when offensive leader Nunu Agara left with an injury. She did not return in the 96-47 blowout. It was the worst defeat in Stanford program history, besting a 45-point loss (96-51) to Long Beach State in 1983. The sophomore forward did not play in a 74-65 road loss to Louisville (17-7, 10-3) on Sunday.

Stanford (NET 51) is 1-9 in Quad 1 games with only one potential game left on their inaugural ACC schedule. Stanford hosts Georgia Tech, on the bubble of Quad 1 contention in this matchup, in the regular-season finale on March 2.

Things are obviously much tougher without Agara (16.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg), a key returner in a season of change at Stanford. Cameron Brink left for the WNBA, Kiki Iriafen bounced for USC, head coach Tara VanDerveer handed the reins to longtime assistant Kate Paye and the program officially joined the ACC.

VanDerveer led Stanford to the NCAA tournament in all but her first two seasons (the 2020 tournament was canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic). The Cardinal earned a No. 1 seed 13 times (winning titles in 1990, ’92 and 2021) and missed out on a top-four seed six times in 37 tournaments.

Games of the week

UCLA (22-0, 10-0 Big Ten) at USC (21-2, 11-1 Big Ten), Thursday at 10 p.m. ET (Peacock): All eyes are back on Los Angeles, where USC’s JuJu Watkins and UCLA’s Lauren Betts lead a reinvigorated crosstown rivalry. Their two matchups will determine the Big Ten regular-season champion.

UConn (22-3, 13-0 Big East) at South Carolina (22-2, 10-1 SEC), Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (ABC): South Carolina is on a four-game winning streak in the series that began with eight straight victories by UConn. The Huskies are 9-5 all-time in the series.

LSU (24-1, 9-1 SEC) at Texas (24-2, 10-1 SEC), Sunday at 3 p.m. ET (ABC): Another top-10 SEC battle in Austin that could decide the regular-season title.

Official AP rankings

1. UCLA
2. Notre Dame
3. Texas
4. South Carolina
5. LSU
6. USC
7. UConn
8. Kentucky
9. Ohio State
10. North Carolina State
11. TCU
12. North Carolina
13. Duke
14. Kansas State
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Maryland
18. West Virginia
19. Georgia Tech
20. Oklahoma State
21. Alabama
22. Michigan State
23. Florida State
24. Creighton
25. Baylor

Yahoo Sports AP ballot

1. UCLA
2. Texas
3. Notre Dame
4. South Carolina
5. LSU
6. UConn
7. Kentucky
8. TCU
9. USC
10. Ohio State
11. North Carolina
12. Kansas State
13. N.C. State
14. Duke
15. Tennessee
16. Oklahoma
17. Maryland
18. Georgia Tech
19. West Virginia
20. Alabama
21. Oklahoma State
22. Baylor
23. Creighton
24. Michigan State
25. Ole Miss