By DOUG FEINBERG, AP Basketball Writer

Duke during the Semi Finals at the 2025 Ally ACC Women’s Basketball Tournament in Greensboro, N.C. Saturday March 8th, 2025 (Photo by Jaylynn Nash/ACC)

UConn capped its season at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball pol l on Monday, one day after winning its 12th national championship.

The Huskies received all 31 votes from a national media panel after Geno Auriemma’s team beat South Carolina 82-59 for the title. The Gamecocks, who started the season at No. 1, were the unanimous second choice.

A record five teams held the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 this year. South Carolina, UCLA, Notre Dame and Texas also all were first at some point this season. No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Texas both made the Final Four while Southern California finished fifth.

It was UConn’s first time at No. 1 since the team finished the 2021 season that way. It’s also the 17th time overall that the Huskies have ended in the top spot. This year ended the longest drought for the Huskies not to close the season at No. 1 since they went five years in a row from 2003-08.

TCU, Duke, LSU, North Carolina State and Notre Dame rounded out the top 10.

It’s the second year that the AP released a final poll after the NCAA title game. In the past, the last Top 25 vote was released the day after the NCAA selection show.

Triangle ranks

Duke (29-8), which lost to South Carolina in the Elite Eight, finished the year at No. 7, matching its highest ranking since early in the 2014-15 season. It is the Blue Devils’ highest year-end ranking since the end of the 2012-13 season.

NC State (28-7), which lost to LSU in the Elite Eight, finished the year at No. 9. The Wolfpack ranked No. 4 at the end of last season when it reached the Final Four. Coach Wes Moore earned a $50,000 bonus for ranking in the top 15 at the end of the year.

North Carolina (29-8), which lost to Duke in the Sweet 16, finished the year at No. 14. It is the program’s best finish in the rankings since the end of the 2014-15 season when it was No. 15.

Rising Terrapins

Maryland made one of the biggest jump in the poll after almost knocking off South Carolina in the Sweet 16. The Terrapins climbed to 12th from 18th.

On the way up

Ole Miss climbed eight places to 17th after reaching the Sweet 16, where the Rebels lost to UCLA. It’s the first time that the team has been in the final poll since they were ranked 24th in 1996.

Conference breakdown

The Southeastern Conference ended the season with eight ranked teams. The ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 each have five while the Big East and Summit League each have one.

AP Top 25

1. UConn (37-3), 775 (31)

2. South Carolina (35-4), 744 (0)

3. UCLA(34-3), 701 (0)

4. Texas(35-4), 686 (0)

5. USC(31-4), 635 (0)

6. TCU (34-4), 609 (0)

7. Duke (29-8), 595 (0)

8. LSU (31-6), 575 (0)

9. North Carolina State (28-7), 517 (0)

10. Notre Dame (28-6), 478 (0)

11. Oklahoma (27-8), 434 (0)

12. Maryland (25-8), 412 (0)

13. Kansas State (28-8), 391 (0)

14. North Carolina (29-8), 387 (0)

15. Tennessee (24-10), 344 (0)

16. Kentucky (23-8), 290 (0)

17. Ole Miss (22-11), 272 (0)

18. Baylor (28-8), 229 (0)

19. Ohio State (26-7), 216 (0)

20. Alabama (24-9), 199 (0)

21. West Virginia (25-8), 186 (0)

22. Florida State (24-9), 103 (0)

23. South Dakota State(30-4), 66 (0)

24. Oklahoma State(25-7), 40 (0)

25. Michigan (23-11), 37 (0)

Others receiving votes: Louisville 31, Richmond 29, Oregon 24, Indiana 21, Michigan St. 16, Iowa 13, Creighton 9, Illinois 3, Vanderbilt 3, Harvard 2, Columbia 2, Norfolk St. 1.

Source: wralsportsfan.com