DOUG FEINBERG | Associated Press

Iowa cracked the top 10 for the first time in two years and UConn remained the unanimous No. 1 choice in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll released Monday.

The Hawkeyes last were ranked this high in the final poll of Caitlin Clark’s senior year. They had been as high as 11th a few times this season.

UConn received all 30 first-place ballots from a national media panel as the top six teams in the poll were unchanged from a week earlier. The Huskies have won 35 consecutive games dating to last season. After the poll was released, UConn beat former Big East rival Notre Dame, which fell out of the poll this week.

No. 2 South Carolina and No. 3 UCLA were next. Texas remained fourth despite losing to South Carolina 68-65 last week. Vanderbilt and LSU were next, while Michigan moved up a spot to seventh with Louisville, TCU and Iowa rounding out the top 10. Each team climbed one place after Kentucky lost to Mississippi State on Sunday. The Wildcats fell four spots to 11th.

Soaring Blue Devils

Duke vaulted back into the poll at No. 21 after winning its 10th consecutive game last week. The team was seventh in the preseason Top 25 before dropping six of its first nine games to fall out. Duke has been on a hot streak over the last month.

Rising Tigers

Princeton moved up to No. 20 this week, the Tigers’ best ranking since they were 13th in the final poll of 2015. The Tigers have a 14-game winning streak after beating Harvard in overtime on Monday. The lone defeat on the season came against Maryland.

Falling Cyclones

Iowa State dropped out of the poll for the first time this season after losing its fifth consecutive game on Sunday. The Cyclones were 10th on Dec. 22, but have steadily fallen in the rankings since.

Conference supremacy

The Southeastern Conference has nine teams in the Top 25 for the second straight week. The Big Ten is next with seven as Washington re-entered the poll this week and Illinois fell out. The Big 12 has five ranked teams after West Virginia returned to the rankings. The Atlantic Coast COnference has two while the Big East and Ivy League each have one.

Game of the week

No. 5 Vanderbilt at No. 2 South Carolina, Sunday. The Commodores will put their undefeated SEC record on the line against the Gamecocks. Vanderbilt is off to its best start ever at 19-0 after Monday’s 72-69 win over Michigan.

Through Games JAN. 18, 2026

Others receiving votes:  West Virginia 41, Duke 41, North Carolina 21, Minnesota 12, Washington 11, Stanford 10, Utah 8, Southern Cal 4, Rode Island 4, Georgia 3, Oregon 2, NC State 2.