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ICYMI: Rough week for Tennessee after blowing huge lead

NEW YORK (AP) - It was a rough week for Tennessee.

The sixth-ranked Lady Vols were in the midst of a difficult stretch where they played four consecutive ranked teams. Tennessee had a 23-point lead in the first half against No. 5 Notre Dame on Thursday before completely falling apart and losing to the Irish by 14.

The Lady Vols followed that up with a 19-point home loss to the third-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs on Sunday.

"I'm disappointed our kids weren't more tough," Tennessee coach Holly Warlick said after the loss to Mississippi State. "I'll just be honest with you. I thought we gave up too many loose balls. We didn't get on the floor as much. We've done that. It just didn't appear that we had that today. We've got to make sure we instill that in our kids."

While Tennessee will slide down the rankings this week, Mississippi State should be poised to move to No. 2 after previously unbeaten Louisville lost on Sunday.

Other tidbits from the week:

1,000-WIN CLUB: Bentley coach Barbara Stevens became the first Division II coach to reach 1,000 victories and only the fifth in women's basketball history when her team beat Adelphi on Wednesday. Stevens joined Geno Auriemma and Sylvia Hatchell as the third coach to achieve the milestone this season.

POLL WATCH: Georgia just keeps winning and has a good shot to find itself ranked for the first time in nearly three years. The Bulldogs are 17-2, including 5-1 in the SEC. The Bulldogs were last ranked in 2015 under former coach Andy Landers.

SAD NEWS: Former Baylor women's basketball player Chameka Scott died of cancer Sunday. The 33-year-old Scott helped the Lady Bears win the program's first national championship in 2005, when she started 35 of the 36 games. She hit all three of her shots and had four rebounds in the NCAA title game against Michigan State.

WINLESS: While UConn and Mississippi State still haven't lost this year, Mississippi Valley State, Iona, Chicago State and Air Force are still looking for their first victories. Chicago State has lost its last 56 games, with the team's last win coming on Feb. 4, 2016. Air Force had to postpone a game against Fresno State this weekend because of the government shutdown.

TIP-INS: Baylor bigs Kalani Brown and Lauren Cox became the first Big 12 duo to ever grab 19 or more rebounds apiece in a league game when they did it against Kansas State on Saturday. Brown also became the third player in league history to score at least 33 points and grab 19 rebounds in a Big 12 game and the first since Oklahoma's Courtney Paris had 33 points and 21 rebounds against Missouri on Feb. 25, 2007. ... Duke guard Lexie Brown reached 1,000 points at Duke this week in her 53rd game, which is the second-quickest in Duke history. Chris Moreland accomplished it in only 50 games. Brown started her career at Maryland before transferring to Duke after her sophomore year.

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Mississippi State head coach Vic Schaefer congratulates his team as they head toward the bench during a timeout in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Tennessee on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Crystal LoGiudice) The Associated Press
Tennessee head coach Holly Warlick yells direction to her players in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Mississippi State on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2018, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Crystal LoGiudice) The Associated Press
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