Where Notre Dame women's basketball ranks in Week 19 AP Top 25
The final Associated Press Poll of the season before Selection Sunday came out Monday afternoon, and Notre Dame has its best ranking of the year. Head coach Niele Ivey‘s team is slotted at No. 9. They hadn’t been higher than No. 10 in any poll this season, and that was in the preseason rankings.
When Ivey said after the final game of the regular season, a 74-58 trouncing of Louisville, that the Irish were peaking at the right time, she meant it. They backed her up at the ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., by winning the whole thing for the first time in five years.
“It’s so incredible to be in this moment and to say we’re ACC champs when this league is so tough and it was such a hard fought week, three games in a row, the resilience of our team, the adversity we faced, and for everyone to step up was fantastic, and I’m so proud of them and so grateful to be their coach,” Ivey said.
Notre Dame (26-6) has its longest winning streak entering the NCAA Tournament since they last won the ACC Tournament title in 2019. Back then, they were on a nine-game heater that they extended to 14 with a trip to the national championship game. Baylor beat ’em, 82-81, in Notre Dame’s quest for back-to-back natties.
If this year’s winning streak gets to 14, Notre Dame will have won the whole thing for the third time in program history. The Irish have seemingly put themselves in an advantageous position to do it despite the roster situation. When the bracket is announced this Sunday, Notre Dame should be a No. 3 seed. It could even shake out for the Irish to slide up to the No. 2 line.
A No. 4 seed would be disappointing and would feel like a slight considering how hot Notre Dame is right now, but it would still put the Irish in a position to host first- and second-round NCAA Tournament games. That feels like a lock.
The Irish get some much-needed time to rest this week after using a six-player rotation to beat NC State, 55-51, in Sunday’s ACC championship game. If senior center Kylee Watson’s knee injury she suffered in the semifinals is season-ending, those are the half dozen Ivey will lean on in the big dance.
“This team is the type of team that does whatever we need to help us win,” Ivey said.
Here’s a look at the full Week 19 poll.
Week 19 NCAA Women’s Basketball AP Top 25
- South Carolina (32-0)
- Iowa (29-4)
- USC (26-5)
- Stanford (28-5)
- Texas (28-4)
- UCLA (25-6)
- Ohio State (25-5)
- LSU (28-5)
- Notre Dame (26-6)
- UConn (28-5)
- NC State (27-6)
- Oregon State (24-7)
- Virginia Tech (24-7)
- Gonzaga (29-2)
- Indiana (24-5)
- Kansas State (25-6)
- Oklahoma (22-8)
- Colorado (22-9)
- Baylor (24-7)
- Utah (22-10)
- UNLV (27-2)
- Syracuse (23-7)
- Creighton (25-5)
- Louisville (24-9)
- Fairfield (28-1)
