UM women’s hoops up to No. 22 in AP poll

Michigan is making itself at home in the Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll.

The Wolverines (4-1) moved up three spots to No. 22 in this week’s poll, released Monday. Michigan is ranked for the fourth consecutive week, the second-longest run in school history. The Wolverines were in the poll for nine consecutive weeks from Nov. 6, 2001 to Jan. 7, 2002. Michigan faces Notre Dame on Wednesday.

“The goal of every coach is consistency. We all aspire to get to be like Notre Dame and UConn or our own in-state team Michigan State,” Michigan coach Kim Barnes Arico said. “At Michigan you’re surrounded by greatness. Every sport like football and softball has won consistently. When I came to Michigan that was my goal.”

Michigan State (4-1) is unranked, though it received 16 points from voters.

UConn is still No. 1 in the poll, while former Big East rival Villanova is back in the Top 25 for the first time in 13 years.

The Huskies (5-0) ran past then-No. 5 UCLA and Michigan State this past week. Next up is a game in Nevada on Tuesday before returning home to face No. 3 Notre Dame on Sunday in the Jimmy V Classic.

Texas remained No. 2 with Louisville and South Carolina rounding out the top five in Monday’s poll which is selected by a national media panel. The Gamecocks dropped two spots after losing to the Irish in the championship game of the Gulf Coast Showcase.

The No. 25 Wildcats (5-0) are ranked for the first time since Nov. 29, 2004. Harry Perretta’s team won the Vermont Thanksgiving tournament over the weekend.

AP TOP 25 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL POLL

1. Connecticut (31 first-place votes), 5-0, 775

2. Texas, 5-0, 723

3. Notre Dame, 6-0, 698

4. Louisville, 6-0, 695

5. South Carolina, 6-1, 611

6. Mississippi State, 6-0, 610

7. UCLA, 5-1, 609

8. Ohio State, 7-1, 569

9. Baylor, 5-1, 557

10. Oregon, 5-1, 470

11. West Virginia, 6-0, 446

12. Tennessee, 6-0, 428

13. Florida State, 6-0, 380

14. Duke, 5-1, 351

15. Maryland, 5-2, 324

16. Stanford, 4-3, 310

17. South Florida, 6-1, 259

18. Texas A&M, 4-1, 215

19. Missouri, 5-1, 207

20. Kentucky, 6-0, 174

21. Oregon State, 3-2, 166

22. Michigan, 4-1, 107

23. Marquette, 2-2, 101

24. California, 3-2, 66

25. Villanova, 5-0, 56

Others receiving votes: Green Bay 31, Arizona State 26, Oklahoma 25, New Mexico 19, Iowa 17, Michigan State 16, DePaul 8, Syracuse 6, Oklahoma State 5, Minnesota 5, Kansas State 4, USC 3, Georgia 3