Stanford’s 17 year-run in AP women’s hoops poll ends

Stanford’s 17-year run in the Top 25 is over. The Cardinal on Monday fell out of The Associated Press women’s basketball poll for the first time since the 2001 season, ending a streak of 312 consecutive ranked weeks.

The remarkable run started with the 2001-02 preseason poll and ended on Christmas. Stanford (6-6) lost at home last week to Western Illinois and Tennessee to fall to .500 on the season. Five of the Cardinal’s six losses this season have come to teams that were in the top 10 when they played.

“We can schedule it so that we are 12-0 or 10-2. But this team went to the Final Four last year, and that’s the level that we have to get to,” Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer said. “We need our tough schedule to pay off for us. ”

Only UConn, which remained the unanimous No. 1 team as voted on by a 32-member national media panel, has a longer active streak in the poll. The Huskies have been ranked for 458 consecutive weeks. Stanford’s streak is tied for third longest in the history of the poll. Tennessee had the longest run at 565 weeks. Stanford’s mark ties it with Duke.

UConn was followed by Notre Dame, Louisville, South Carolina and Mississippi State. With a light schedule because of the holidays, the top 17 teams stayed the same.