By: Doug Feinberg
NEW YORK — UConn’s record streak of top five appearances in The Associated Press women’s basketball poll is over.
The Huskies fell to sixth on Monday, ending a run of 253 consecutive weeks as one of the first five teams in the Top 25. That historic stretch dated back to Feb. 5, 2007. Connecticut’s run dwarfs the No. 2 all-time mark of 96 set by Louisiana Tech in the 1980s.
The longest current streak is now held by No. 1 South Carolina at 11. The Gamecocks had a hand in ending the Huskies’ run by routing UConn last Monday night. The Huskies’ three losses this season have come to the Gamecocks, No. 2 Baylor and third-ranked Oregon. South Carolina earned 27 first-place votes from the national media panel. Baylor received two and Oregon one.
UConn’s streak may have continued had fourth-ranked Stanford not had a miracle finish to beat Colorado on Sunday. The Cardinal trailed by three with 12 seconds left when Kiana Williams tied the game. She then stole the ball from Mya Hollingshed and sank a 40-footer at the buzzer.
The Cardinal moved up four spots in the poll. Louisville moved into fifth after knocking off then-No. 4 N.C. State on Thursday.
Maryland, UCLA, Mississippi State and N.C. State round out the first 10 teams.
Princeton re-entered the Top 25 this week, coming in 25th. Tennessee fell out of the poll.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
During UConn’s record run the Huskies were No. 1 in the poll for 151 weeks, including 51 consecutive weeks from 2008-10. A total of 27 other teams had been in the top five during that stretch; none came close to lasting as long as the Huskies.
MOVING ON UP
Maryland jumped three places to seventh this week. The Terrapins have been playing extremely well lately, including a 34-point win over Iowa last week to take command of the Big Ten. The Terrapins were fourth in the preseason poll before falling to as low as 20th on Jan. 13. They’ve been climbing ever since.
*Courtesy Associated Press
