Maryland women’s basketball’s 13-year streak of being ranked in the AP Poll ended Monday. The Terps dropped to an unofficial No. 26 with 48 votes.
Maryland had been in the top 25 since Oct. 29, 2010. It is the sixth-longest streak in women’s college basketball history, trailing UConn, Tennessee, Baylor, Duke and Stanford.
“I feel like we use it as motivation, because I do feel like we feel like we should be ranked,” junior Shyanne Sellers said. “But at the end of the day, rankings don’t matter.”
It was also the second-longest active streak in the country, only behind UConn. Maryland was ranked No. 14 before the year and dropped to No. 20 after a 38-point drubbing to then-No. 6 South Carolina.
Maryland then lost to then-No. 8 UConn, 80-48, before narrowly beating Syracuse at home on Sunday.
Last season, the Terps closed the year at No. 7 in the country, after an Elite Eight loss to top-seeded South Carolina.
[No. 20 Maryland women’s basketball’s early struggles continue in 80-48 loss to No. 8 UConn]
Maryland has the fifth-most AP Poll appearances of all time. The Terps’ first ranking under coach Brenda Frese came in 2004. They were ranked until that season’s second-to-last poll. They rejoined the rankings the next year and remained ranked until the 2009-10 season, when they only entered the poll once and finished with a 21-13 record.
That team also lost a non-conference game by 25+ points, although to a much lesser opponent in No. 25 Mississippi State.
Maryland was not ranked in the preseason, mainly because it lost its two top scorers from the previous year in Marissa Coleman and Kristi Toliver.
Similarly, this year’s Terps lost their two leaders in points per game from last season, Diamond Miller and Abby Meyers.
Maryland will face another ranked foe on Thanksgiving, taking on No. 23 Washington State in the Cancun Challenge.
