Northwestern women's basketball is ranked 19th in the country in the Associated Press Preseason Poll, which was released Tuesday.
The Wildcats, coming off their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1997, return their five top scorers from a year ago, including star forward Nia Coffey.
Here's the complete poll:
| Rank | Team | 2014-15 record | Points | Previous |
| 1 | Connecticut (32) | 38-1 | 800 | 1 |
| 2 | South Carolina | 34-3 | 758 | 3 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | 36-3 | 714 | 2 |
| 4 | Tennessee | 30-6 | 711 | 6 |
| 5 | Baylor | 33-4 | 672 | 5 |
| 6 | Ohio State | 24-11 | 570 | 23 |
| 7 | Florida State | 32-5 | 551 | 7 |
| 8 | Louisville | 27-7 | 541 | 8 |
| 9 | Maryland | 34-3 | 536 | 4 |
| 10 | Oregon State | 27-5 | 518 | 10 |
| 11 | Mississippi State | 27-7 | 465 | 12 |
| 12 | Texas | 24-11 | 459 | NR |
| 13 | Texas A&M | 23-10 | 397 | 21 |
| 14 | Duke | 23-11 | 392 | 16 |
| 15 | Arizona State | 29-6 | 347 | 9 |
| 16 | Stanford | 26-10 | 338 | 14 |
| 17 | Oklahoma | 21-12 | 264 | NR |
| 18 | Kentucky | 24-10 | 241 | 11 |
| 19 | Northwestern | 23-9 | 209 | 22 |
| 20 | South Florida | 27-8 | 202 | 25 |
| 21 | George Washington | 29-4 | 171 | 19 |
| 22 | North Carolina | 26-9 | 94 | 15 |
| 23 | Syracuse | 22-10 | 74 | NR |
| 24 | Michigan State | 16-15 | 61 | NR |
| 25 | Chattanooga | 29-4 | 60 | 17 |