UConn women fall to No. 17, worst AP poll ranking in 30 years - ESPN

UConn dropped to 17th in the Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll Monday, its worst ranking in 30 years.

The last time the Huskies were ranked this low was the second poll of the 1993-94 season when they were 18th. The drop also ended a 357-week stretch of being ranked in the top 15, which was the second longest in the history of the poll, which dates to 1977 (Tennessee had 428 consecutive appearances).

First-place votes in parentheses.

While Geno Auriemma's team has struggled so far this season because of injuries, South Carolina remained the unanimous No. 1 choice in voting by 35 members of a national media panel. The Gamecocks swept a pair of games over North Carolina and Duke last week. UCLA, NC State, Iowa and Texas rounded out the first five in the poll. The Longhorns jumped up five spots in the poll after beating then-No. 11 UConn.

The one plus for the Huskies, who last weren't in the top 15 on Jan. 10, 2005, is that their three losses have come to UCLA, NC State and Texas — all now in the top five.

USC, LSU and Colorado followed the Longhorns in the poll. The Tigers saw the return of All-American forward Angel Reese in a win over Virginia Tech in the ACC/SEC Challenge. Reese had missed four games for LSU.

Stanford fell from third to ninth after losing at Gonzaga on Sunday. The same day, Tennessee lost to Ohio State and UConn lost to Texas — the first time traditional powers Stanford, Tennessee and UConn all lost on the same day since Dec. 29, 2004. The Cardinal now own the longest active streak in the top 15 according to the website «Across the Timeline,» with 102 straight weeks.

Baylor moved up to No. 10.

In and out

The victory over Stanford propelled Gonzaga into the poll at No. 23. Washington State