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Posted at 7:50 a.m., Monday, January 7, 2008

CBKB: UConn women unanimous No. 1

By DOUG FEINBERG
AP Sports Writer

Connecticut steamrolled its way to a unanimous choice at No. 1.

The Huskies received all 50 first-place votes today in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. Connecticut, which has held the top spot the past three weeks, hasn't been a unanimous pick since Dec. 8, 2003.

Connecticut routed its opponents last week, blowing out Army, Hartford and Purdue by nearly 50 points a game. The Huskies embarrassed Purdue 100-50 on national television Sunday.

"UConn's the best team I've seen," Purdue coach Sharon Versyp said. "You can put eight players on the floor, and you can't simulate that kind of pressure."

Next up for Connecticut is a Big East Conference game with West Virginia on Wednesday.

Stanford took a huge fall, dropping from No. 2 to No. 7 after losing at UCLA and USC. It was the first time the Cardinal have been swept in Los Angeles since the 1993-94 season. Stanford had its nine-game winning streak snapped Friday night in a 69-56 loss at UCLA. The Cardinal then lost 73-72 to USC on Sunday.

"This game could have easily gone either way," said Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer after Sunday's loss. "We had some defensive breakdowns that hurt us."

Tennessee moved up to No. 2 after blowing out then-No. 15 DePaul and No. 14 Notre Dame.

The Lady Vols were followed by North Carolina, Maryland and Rutgers, who all moved up one place. Oklahoma didn't play this week, but moved into sixth.

Baylor, California and Georgia followed Stanford to round out the first 10. Georgia suffered its first loss of the season Sunday, falling to Xavier 65-55.

LSU, Duke, Texas A&M, and Notre Dame all held their place. Texas moved into 15th and West Virginia 16th.

George Washington jumped three spots to 17th after edging then-No. 18 Auburn 68-66 and routing Brown 98-22. Old Dominion moved up to 18th. The Lady Monarchs were followed by Ohio State and Arkansas.

The Lady Razorbacks (15-0) remained unbeaten with a 80-57 rout of Texas Tech. They open Southeastern Conference play Thursday night against LSU. Arkansas started 15-1 last season, briefly entering the Top 25 before beginning league play. The Lady Razorbacks finished the season 18-13.

Wyoming, Auburn, Colorado, DePaul and Oklahoma State round out the Top 25. DePaul had a rough week, first getting blown out 102-68 by Tennessee. The Blue Demons then lost their Big East opener 97-68 at home to Pittsburgh.

"We have to regroup, but this team is not giving up," DePaul coach Doug Bruno said.