UConn finishes season at No. 1 in AP women's basketball poll for first time since 2021

UConn capped its season at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball pol l on Monday, one day after winning its 12th national championship.

The Huskies received all 31 votes from a national media panel after Geno Auriemma's team beat South Carolina 82-59 for the title. The Gamecocks, who started the season at No. 1, were the unanimous second choice.

A record five teams held the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 this year. South Carolina, UCLA, Notre Dame and Texas also all were first at some point this season. No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 Texas both made the Final Four while Southern California finished fifth.

It was UConn's first time at No. 1 since the team finished the 2021 season that way. It's also the 17th time overall that the Huskies have ended in the top spot. This year ended the longest drought for the Huskies not to close the season at No. 1 since they went five years in a row from 2003-08.

TCU, Duke, LSU, North Carolina State and Notre Dame rounded out the top 10.

It's the second year that the AP released a final poll after the NCAA title game. In the past, the last Top 25 vote was released the day after the NCAA selection show.

Maryland made one of the biggest jump in the poll after almost knocking off South Carolina in the Sweet 16. The Terrapins climbed to 12th from 18th.

Ole Miss climbed eight places to 17th after reaching the Sweet 16, where the Rebels lost to UCLA. It's the first time that the team has been in the final poll since they were ranked 24th in 1996.

The Southeastern Conference ended the season with eight ranked teams. The ACC, Big Ten and Big 12 each have five while the Big East and Summit League each have one.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball

South Carolina guard Bree Hall (23) reacts after hitting a three point basket against Texas during the second half of a national semifinal Final Four game during the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, April 4, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

UConn guard Paige Bueckers holds up a piece of the net after the Huskies defeated South Carolina inthe national championship game at the Final Four of the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

South Carolina forward Sania Feagin (20) walks off the floor with teammates after South Carolina lost to UConn in the national championship game at the Final Four of the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma holds up the net after defeating South Carolina in the national championship game at the Final Four of the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

UConn head coach Geno Auriemma holds up the championship trophy after UConn defeated South Carolina in the national championship game at the Final Four of the women's NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday, April 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

NEW YORK (AP) — A helicopter broke apart in midair and crashed upside-down into the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront Thursday, killing six people in the latest high-profile aviation disaster in the U.S., according to witnesses and a law enforcement official.

The New York Fire Department said it received a report of the crash at 3:17 p.m. All six people aboard were killed, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly and did so on condition of anonymity.

Witness Bruce Wall said he saw the helicopter “falling apart” in midair, with the tail and propeller coming off. The propeller was still spinning without the aircraft as it fell, he said.

Lesly Camacho, a hostess at a restaurant along the river in Hoboken, New Jersey, said she saw the helicopter spinning uncontrollably before it slammed into the water.

“There was a bunch of smoke coming out. It was spinning pretty fast, and it landed in the water really hard,” she said in a phone interview.

Video posted to social media showed parts of the chopper splashing into the water, and the overturned aircraft was submerged, with rescue boats circling it.

The skies were overcast at the time, but visibility over the river was not substantially impaired. Rescue crews had to deal with 45-degree water temperatures.

The Federal Aviation Administration identified the helicopter as a Bell 206. The FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board planned to investigate.

The rescue craft were near the end of a long maintenance pier for a ventilation tower serving the Holland Tunnel on the New Jersey side of the river. Fire trucks and other emergency vehicles were on streets near the scene with their lights flashing.

The skies over Manhattan are routinely filled with both planes and helicopters, both private recreational aircraft and commercial and tourist flights. Manhattan has several helipads that whisk business executives and others to destinations throughout the metropolitan area.

Over the years, there have been multiple crashes, including a collision between a plane and a tourist helicopter over the Hudson River in 2009 that killed nine people and the 2018 crash of a charter helicopter offering “open door” flights that went down into the East River, killing five people.

A medical transport plane killed seven people when it plummeted into a Philadelphia neighborhood in January. That happened two days after an American Airlines jet and an Army helicopter collided in midair in Washington — the deadliest U.S. air disaster in a generation.

The crashes and other close calls have left some people worried about the safety of flying.

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed into the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

First responders from New Jersey and New York respond to the scene where a helicopter crashed in the Hudson River, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

As seen from Pier 40 in New York, police and fire crews from New York and New Jersey respond to the scene Thursday, April 10, 2025, where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River between Manhattan and the New Jersey waterfront. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)

A New York Fire Department Marine 1 boat departs from Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)

First responders walk along Pier 40, Thursday, April 10, 2025, in New York, across from where a helicopter went down in the Hudson River in Jersey City, N.J. (AP Photo/Jennifer Peltz)