Notre Dame ascends to AP poll’s top spot for the first time since 2019 as UCLA faces its initial defeat.

Notre Dame has claimed the No. 1 spot in the Top 25 women’s basketball rankings, marking their first rise to the top position since 2019. This shift occurred on Monday when the Fighting Irish took the lead, succeeding UCLA, which recently suffered its first loss of the season against rival USC, with a score of 71-60. Notre Dame last held the No. 1 ranking on January 21, 2019.

“It’s definitely an honor to be the nation’s top team, but we are just focused on getting better every day,” expressed Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey. The Irish earned 16 first-place votes from the 30-member national media panel, solidifying their ranking after a decisive victory over No. 11 Duke, which ended with a score of 64-49 on Monday night.

Texas climbed to the second position, marking its highest ranking since 2017. The Longhorns received eight first-place votes and have made history by being the first team to defeat three consecutive top 10 opponents since the 2004-05 season. Their impressive record includes victories against South Carolina, Kentucky, and LSU. Meanwhile, UCLA, which had maintained the No. 1 ranking for 12 straight weeks following their win against South Carolina in late November, has slipped to third and claimed the remaining six first-place votes.

In the rankings, USC moved up to fourth place, while UConn secured the fifth position after delivering a convincing performance against then-No. 4 South Carolina, winning 87-58. As a result, South Carolina’s 71-game home winning streak came to a halt, dropping them to sixth. LSU and Ohio State follow, occupying the seventh and eighth spots, respectively. North Carolina improved its ranking by three places to ninth following a narrow victory over N.C. State, and TCU rounded out the top ten.

Additionally, Illinois made a return to the rankings, entering at No. 25 after securing wins against Penn State and Nebraska, having previously been ranked earlier in the season. Conversely, Florida State dropped out of the rankings after a loss to Louisville, despite a close win over Miami.

It has been a challenging week for Kentucky, who fell six places to 14th after reaching their highest ranking in a decade just a week prior. The Wildcats faced defeats against Ole Miss and Texas before bouncing back to defeat Georgia.

In terms of conference representation, the Southeastern Conference leads with seven teams ranked, followed closely by the Big Ten with six ranked teams, while the ACC and Big 12 each have five. The Big East contributes two teams to the rankings.

As the NCAA Tournament approaches, the selection committee recently announced the top 16 teams, which included UCLA, South Carolina, Texas, and Notre Dame as the number one seeds, just before South Carolina’s recent loss.

Looking ahead, a key matchup of the week features No. 1 Notre Dame taking on No. 13 North Carolina State this Sunday. The Irish currently lead the ACC standings by two games over the Wolfpack, with five teams closely trailing in the race for second place. Additionally, No. 17 West Virginia is set to face No. 10 TCU in what promises to be an exciting contest within the Big 12, as both teams vie for top positioning in their conference.