Irish smiling: Notre Dame No. 1 in preseason AP women's poll

Irish smiling: Notre Dame No. 1 in preseason AP women's poll

Published Nov. 1, 2016 1:17 p.m. ET

Muffet McGraw and Notre Dame are ranked No. 1 in The Associated Press women's basketball poll for the first time in 15 years.

The Irish garnered 14 first place votes on Tuesday from a 33-member national media panel to earn the top ranking in the preseason poll. Notre Dame last held the No. 1 ranking on March 5, 2001. McGraw returns most of the core back from a team that went 33-2 last season.

Baylor was a close second, four points behind the Irish. The Lady Bears had 12 first place votes.

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UConn, which has won 75 consecutive games and four straight national championships, was third. South Carolina and Louisville round out the top five teams.

National runner-up Syracuse was 14th while Final Four participants Washington and Oregon State were 17th and 25th.

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More AP college basketball http://collegebasketball.ap.org

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