Nov. 6, 2001

Waco, Texas - The Baylor Lady Bears basketball team has been ranked in both major top 25 polls, the Associated Press' (AP) poll and USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' poll.

After receiving numerous preseason top 25 rankings, the Lady Bears are ranked No. 14 by the AP and No. 16 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches poll. This is the highest-ever ranking in the major polls by the Lady Bears.

Baylor, 21-9 last season, ended the 2000-2001 campaign ranked No. 23 in the AP's final poll but were not ranked at season's end by the coaches. Baylor has appeared only one other time in the coaches poll, they were No. 22 for one week (Jan. 29) last season. The Lady Bears were ranked for eight weeks in the AP Poll last season, their highest being No. 23.

Associated Press Top 25
1. Connecticut (31 first-place votes)
2. Tennessee (5)
3. Vanderbilt (6)
4. Oklahoma (2)
5. Duke (1)
6. Louisiana Tech
7. Texas Tech
8. Iowa State
9. Stanford
10. North Carolina State
11. Purdue
12. Colorado
13. Florida
14. Baylor
15. Notre Dame
16. Georgia
17. Michigan
18. Old Dominion
19. Washington
20. George Washington
21. Penn State
22. Arizona State
23. Maryland
24. Colorado State
25. Utah

USA Today/ESPN Top 25 Coaches' Poll Top 25
1. Connecticut (25 first place votes)
2. Tennessee (7)
3. Vanderbilt (5)
4. Duke
5. Oklahoma (1)
6. Louisiana Tech (1)
7. Texas Tech (1)
8. Iowa State
9. Purdue
10. Stanford
11. North Carolina State
12. Florida
13. Colorado
14. Notre Dame
15. Georgia
16. Baylor
17. Washington
18. Old Dominion
19. Penn State
20. Michigan
21. LSU
22. George Washington
23. Rutgers
24. Utah
25. Colorado State

Other preseason top 25 rankings achieved by the Lady Bears include:
Basketball America - No. 8
Athlon Sports - No. 10
Women's Basketball Journal - No. 11
Basketball News - No. 14
Lindy's College Basketball - No. 16
Street & Smith's College Basketball - No. 21
Women's Basketball News Service - No. 23

The Lady Bears will tip-off the season on Friday, Nov. 16 against North Texas at 7:00 p.m. CST in the Nevada Bell Classic in Reno, Nevada. Also in the tournament are Nevada and Memphis.