No. 2 South Carolina has picked up a first-place ballot in the women's AP Top 25 college basketball poll after cruising through the first three games of a five-game stretch against ranked teams.

Unbeaten UCLA remained atop The Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll released Monday, with No. 2 South Carolina hot on the Bruins' heels. The Gamecocks (18-1) have won 13 straight games since losing to UCLA (17-0) on Nov.

South Carolina has so far cruised through the difficult part of its conference schedule and remained No. 2 in the Top 25, picking up a first-place vote to gain a bit of ground on top-ranked UCLA.