Dec. 14, 2004

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Maryland women's basketball team moved up one spot to No. 18 in this week's Associated Press poll and remained at No. 21 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. The Terps, who won their fifth-straight game on Sunday night, have been featured in the top 25 for the sixth-consecutive week.

Head coach Brenda Frese has guided Maryland (7-1) to its best start since the 1996-97 season. The Terps posted two convincing victories last week to stretch their win streak to five games, their longest since the 2000-01 campaign, topping St. Bonaventure (91-42) and Monmouth (81-49) in Comcast Center. Last week, Maryland made its first top-20 appearance in the AP poll in 11 years. Its only loss of the season is to top-ranked LSU.

Maryland is one of just three ACC squads ranked in the top 25. Duke is rated third in both rankings, while North Carolina has been tabbed fifth in the AP poll and sixth in the Coaches poll. The Terps host both teams in Comcast Center with the Tar Heels visiting on Jan. 9 at 6:30 p.m. The Blue Devils come to College Park on Feb. 13 with tip-off set for 3 p.m. Each of those games will be broadcast nationally on Fox Sports and ESPN2, respectively.

The Terps are in the midst of a five-game homestand, hitting the hardwood on Monday, Dec. 20 at 7 p.m. to host Coppin State.

ASSOCIATED PRESS TOP 25 Dec. 13

 1. LSU (45)               8-0  1,125  1
 2. Stanford               7-0  1,055  2
 3. Duke                   8-1    985  3
 4. Texas                  4-2    928  4
 5. North Carolina         8-1    908  5
 6. Baylor                 7-1    906  6
 7. Notre Dame             9-1    875  7
 8. Connecticut            4-1    826  8
 9. Tennessee              5-2    791  9
10. Ohio St.               8-1    753 10
11. Michigan St.           8-1    677 12
12. Texas Tech             5-1    645 13
13. Minnesota              8-1    506 16
14. Boston College         7-1    450 17
15. Georgia                7-3    445 11
16. UCLA                   6-1    416 18
17. Vanderbilt             7-1    385 14
18. Maryland               7-1    329 19
19. Houston                8-0    303 22
20. Purdue                 6-2    292 21
21. DePaul                 6-2    260 15
22. Rutgers                5-1    220 20
23. Arizona St.            7-1    124  -
24. Iowa                   8-0    109  -
25. Kansas St.             5-2     74 25

Others receiving votes: Arizona 46, Utah 35, TCU 30, Georgia Tech 26, Oregon 20, Richmond 16, Tulsa 16, N.C. State 12, Villanova 10, Wis.-Green Bay 7, Charlotte 6, Iowa St. 5, West Virginia 4, Chattanooga 3, Florida 1, Illinois 1.

USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES POLL

 1. LSU (40)                   8-0  1,000   1
 2. Stanford                   7-0    934   2
 3. Duke                       8-1    904   3
 4. Texas                      4-2    819   4
 5. Notre Dame                 7-1    804   5
 6. North Carolina             8-1    781   7
 7. Ohio State                 9-1    769   6
 8. Connecticut                4-1    730   8
 9. Baylor                     7-1    683  10
10. Tennessee                  5-2    674   9
11. Michigan State             8-1    582  12
12. Texas Tech                 5-1    531  13
13. Minnesota                  8-1    471  16
14. Vanderbilt                 7-1    417  11
15. Houston                    8-0    384  17
16. Georgia                    7-3    367  14
17. UCLA                       6-1    317  20
18. Purdue                     6-2    314  19
19. Boston College             7-1    313  18
20. DePaul                     6-2    257  15
21. Maryland                   7-1    242  21
22. Kansas State               5-2    175  22
23. Iowa                       8-0     82  NR
24. Oregon                     7-0     78  NR
25. Arizona State              7-1     74  NR

Others receiving votes: Rutgers 71; Arizona 62; West Virginia 37; TCU 29; Richmond 22; Eastern Michigan 19; Utah 15; Temple 7; Villanova 7; Wisconsin-Green Bay 6; Florida State 5; Louisiana Tech 4; Tulsa 4; Alabama 2; Charlotte 2; Penn State 2; Washington 2; UC-Santa Barbara 1; Western Kentucky 1.