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 The Utes entered The Associated Press women's basketball poll at No. 20 on Monday, the first time they've been among the Top 25 since the final poll of the 2005-06 season.
"It's a great breakthrough," Utah coach Elaine Elliott said.
Connecticut remained the unanimous No. 1 for the fifth consecutive week, with Tennessee and North Carolina again second and third.
For the second straight week, the Huskies are one of seven Big East schools in the poll. The others are No. 7 Rutgers, No. 12 West Virginia, No. 15 Pittsburgh, No. 16 Notre Dame, No. 23 Syracuse and No. 25 DePaul.
Connecticut (21-0) visits Rutgers in the first of their two meetings this season Tuesday night. The Huskies ran through South Florida and Providence this past week to remain the lone unbeaten team.
Utah (18-3) gained attention early in the season with a tough double-overtime home loss on Nov. 18 to Stanford.
"That win would have put us in at that point and time," Elliott said. "Instead, the loss got us noticed."
The Utes' other losses this season were in overtime to Marist at the Oahu Classic and a defeat at Southern California. Since that defeat, the Utes have won every game, including a 60-59 last-second victory at then-No. 15 Wyoming. The Utes visit UNLV on Wednesday.
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Tennessee, which went 3-0 last week, was the unanimous second choice for the second straight week. Third-ranked North Carolina visits No. 11 Duke on Monday night.
Maryland moved up to No. 4, followed by Baylor, Stanford and Rutgers. The Scarlet Knights fell three places after splitting games with West Virginia and Pittsburgh. LSU, California and Oklahoma fill out the first 10.
Duke was No. 11, followed by West Virginia, Old Dominion, George Washington, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, which moved up four spots to No. 16. Oklahoma State also moved up four places to 17th. The Cowgirls were followed by Kansas State, Ohio State, Utah and Texas A&M.
Wyoming fell seven spots to No. 22 after losing consecutive games to Utah and BYU. Syracuse, Georgia and DePaul round out the poll.
Georgia has dropped three straight games for only the third time in Andy Landers' 30 years as head coach. The Lady Dogs are at their lowest ranking since Jan. 20, 2003. Georgia has been in the polls every week since.
The Aggies returned to the Top 25 after falling out last week. Illinois State and Texas dropped out.
[Associated Press; By DOUG FEINBERG]
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