Five takeaways from AP Top 25 women's basketball poll

Although the top eight remains unchanged in this week's Associated Press Top 25 women's basketball poll, several teams picked up key wins while one SEC powerhouse suffered its first defeat.

Here are five takeaways from the poll released on Monday.

UCLA remains unblemished, continues to lock down top spot

With a 15-0 record (4-0 Big Ten), the Bruins remain on top as one of five unbeaten teams remaining in Division I, along with No. 6 LSU (17-0), No. 8 Maryland (14-0), No. 9 Ohio State (14-0) and No. 13 Georgia Tech (15-0).

Considering eight of the top 10 teams are from the Big Ten and SEC, it should come as no surprise that four of the five undefeated teams hail from those two conferences.

After a pair of wins over then-No. 24 Michigan, 86-70, and Indiana, 73-62, last week, UCLA is off to its second-longest win streak to start a season after going 16-0 to open the 2019-20 campaign.

Junior center Lauren Betts has been the cornerstone of UCLA's success. In the Bruins' last five games — four of which were against conference opponents — Betts has tallied 104 points, 43 rebounds, 11 assists, nine steals and 11 blocks. If she continues to produce with that efficiency the rest of the season, the Bruins will only add to an already impressive resume.

Notre Dame stays put, gets another signature win

Although the Fighting Irish (12-2, 3-0 ACC) remain at No. 3 in this week's AP poll, a 76-66 win over previous No. 17 North Carolina gave Notre Dame its fourth win over a ranked opponent this season. That is tied with No. 2 South Carolina (14-1) for the most ranked wins this season.

Sophomore Hannah Hidalgo and senior Olivia Miles combined to score or assist on 57 of the team's 76 points on Sunday. Hidalgo has now scored at least 10 points in all 49 of her collegiate games.

With Hidalgo (25.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG) and Miles (16.9 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 7.1 APG) balancing the load on offense, this Notre Dame team has proved it can beat anyone and should continue to pose a significant threat if that kind of production remains.

UConn remains at No. 7 despite injury to star Paige Bueckers

The Huskies (13-2, 4-0 Big East) stay at No. 7. All eyes, however, are on the team's star guard after her left knee — the same knee she suffered a torn ACL to in 2022 — bent awkwardly as she collided with a Villanova player in an 83-52 win on Sunday.