Jan. 17, 2005

By CHUCK SCHOFFNER
AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK - Gonzaga University, riding the second longest winning streak in the nation, once again appeared among the schools also receiving votes in the latest Associated Press women's basketball poll. The Bulldogs garnered seven votes up from three votes last week. Gonzaga will put its 11-game winning streak on the line this weekend with games at home against the University of San Francisco and University of San Diego.

Duke remained No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll and Ohio State matched its highest ranking in school history with a jump to third.

No newcomers broke into the poll Monday, just the second time that has happened this season. Purdue and UCLA clung to their spots in the Top 25 after each lost twice during the past week.

Duke received 31 of 45 first-place votes from a national media panel and held the top spot for the second straight week with 1,104 points - 14 more than No. 2 LSU.

LSU, which was No. 1 for six weeks before Duke took over, inched closer to the top in replacing Baylor at No. 2 and received 13 first-place votes. It was the sixth time this season the No. 2 spot changed hands.

Ohio State (17-2) climbed from fifth to third after beating Rutgers 52-50 on Sunday and received the remaining first-place vote. The Buckeyes haven't been ranked this high since they were third in the final poll of the 1992-93 season, when Katie Smith led them to the national championship game.

Rutgers, which had defeated three Top 10 teams during an eight-day stretch in late December and early January, dropped from fourth to sixth.

Baylor fell to fourth after a triple overtime loss at Nebraska, while Stanford won twice to move up one place to fifth. The Cardinal's week included a 76-66 victory over No. 14 Boston College.

Tennessee moved up to seventh and was followed by Michigan State, North Carolina and Texas Tech, which jumped three spots to reach the Top 10 for the first time this season.

A 17-point loss at home to Connecticut dropped Notre Dame from seventh to 11th. The Irish rebounded to beat Purdue 86-69.

Minnesota was 12th and Connecticut, which seems to be righting itself after some early struggles, went from 16th to 13th. Then it was Boston College, Texas and Maryland, followed by Vanderbilt, DePaul, Iowa State and Kansas State.

Georgia, Iowa, Virginia Tech, Purdue and UCLA held the final five places.

Texas dropped three spots after losing to Texas Tech and beating Oklahoma State - the third straight week the Longhorns have fallen in the poll.

Iowa State made the biggest jump, going from 24th to 19th after beating Kansas and Missouri. The Cyclones have won 11 straight, matching the nation's second-longest winning streak. Unranked Gonzaga also has won 11 in a row.

UCLA tumbled from 19th to 25th after losing to Arizona State and Arizona. Purdue lost to Minnesota before falling to Notre Dame - the first time the Boilermakers have lost consecutive games since December 2001 - and slipped four places to 24th.

*** Associated Press Top-25 Women's College Basketball Poll ***
                     (Complete through Monday, January 17th)
                                                                     Prev
      Team (First-place Votes)                Record      Points     Rank
      ------------------------                ------      ------     ----
      1.  Duke Blue Devils (31)                 16-1       1,104        1
      2.  L-S-U Lady Tigers (13)                16-1       1,090        3
      3.  Ohio State Buckeyes (1)               17-2       1,009        5
      4.  Baylor Lady Bears                     13-2         934        2
      5.  Stanford Cardinal                     15-2         931        6
      6.  Rutgers Scarlet Knights               12-3         888        4
      7.  Tennessee Lady Vols                   12-3         846        8
      8.  Michigan State Spartans               15-2         841        9
      9.  North Carolina Tar Heels              13-2         777        9
      10. Texas Tech Lady Raiders               13-2         703       13
      11. Notre Dame Fighting Irish             14-3         697        7
      12. Minnesota Golden Gophers              14-3         594       11
      13. Connecticut Huskies                   10-4         585       16
      14. Boston College Eagles                 12-2         514       14
      15. Texas Longhorns                        9-5         507       12
      16. Maryland Terps                        12-3         363       15
      17. Vanderbilt Commodores                 13-3         340       17
      18. DePaul Blue Demons                    13-3         327       22
      19. Iowa State Cyclones                   14-1         303       24
      20. Kansas State Wildcats                 12-3         242       23
      21. Georgia Lady Bulldogs                 14-5         238       18
      22. Iowa Hawkeyes                         14-3         128       21
      23. Virginia Tech Hokies                  11-3         122       25
      24. Purdue Boilermakers                   10-6         067       20
      25. U-C-L-A Bruins                        11-5         065       19
 Others receiving votes: Richmond 60, Florida State 58, Penn State 46, Arizona
 State 42, New Mexico 41, U-S-C 38, Temple 31, Wisconsin-Green Bay 25, North
 Carolina State 12, Charlotte 9, Louisiana Tech 8, TCU 8, Gonzaga 7, Arizona
 5, Utah 5, Virginia 5, Houston 3, Marquette 3, Villanova 2, Kentucky 1,
 Mississippi State 1.