Ballot coverage: 30 of the official 31 ballots recovered. Marisa Ingemi’s April 6 Final ballot is unavailable. AP ranks, points and first-place votes use the full 31-voter results; ballot analysis uses the 30 recovered ballots. No choices are inferred for the unavailable ballot.
Verified School Overview and Basketball Program History →
Named ballot coverage is unavailable for Northwestern in the available editions. No poll placement or NR history is inferred.
The Bigger Picture · Women’s basketball
Where Northwestern Finished
Final AP rankings. Poll timing varies by season; the full table identifies whether the poll came before or after the NCAA tournament. Coverage: 1989–90 through 2025–26.
Women’s basketball · Conference Titles
2 Big Ten Conference regular-season championships
- 1989–90*
- 2019–20*
* Shared conference title
Sources & References
The 1989–90 and 2019–20 regular-season titles were shared. Northwestern also won the 1979 and 1980 Big Ten weekend tournaments before conference sanctioning; those events are separate from formal regular-season and modern postseason titles.
- Top 25 Finishes
- 4 / 37 seasons
- Top 10 Finishes
- 0 / 37 seasons
- Best Final Ranking
- #11
- Last Ranked Finish
- #11 in 2019–20
Summary covers 1989–90 through 2025–26.
Higher bars mean a higher finish. NR = Not Ranked in the final Top 25, including teams receiving votes. Gold marks a school-recognized national championship; an AP No. 1 finish alone is not treated as a championship.
- NR
- NR
- NR
- #11
- NR
- NR
- NR
- NR
- NR
- NR
View Every Final Ranking (1989–90–2025–26)
| Year | Final AP Result | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2025–26 | Not Ranked (NR)After NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2024–25 | Not Ranked (NR)After NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2023–24 | Not Ranked (NR)After NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2022–23 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2021–22 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2020–21 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2019–20 | #11Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2018–19 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2017–18 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2016–17 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2015–16 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2014–15 | #22Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2013–14 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2012–13 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2011–12 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2010–11 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2009–10 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2008–09 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2007–08 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2006–07 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2005–06 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2004–05 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2003–04 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2002–03 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2001–02 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 2000–01 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1999–00 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1998–99 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1997–98 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1996–97 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1995–96 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1994–95 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1993–94 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1992–93 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1991–92 | Not Ranked (NR)Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1990–91 | #22Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
| 1989–90 | #13Before NCAA tournament | Source ↗ |
Sources & References
- NCAA 2026 Women’s Division I Records · Complete final AP tables, native PDF pp. 64–67 ↗
- Associated Press · Post-tournament final polls begin with the 2023–24 season ↗
- Florida 2004–05 Women’s Basketball Season Review · Complete AP Top 25 dated March 14, 2005, PDF p. 5; corroborated by UConn NCAA guide p. 6 ↗
- Texas · Complete Associated Press women’s Top 25 dated March 14, 2016; corroborated by Texas NCAA notes p. 6 and Big Ten March 29 postseason release p. 2 ↗
- Indiana · Complete Associated Press women’s Top 25 dated March 12, 2018, WNIT notes PDF p. 7; corroborated by Baylor March 23 and October 26 notes ↗
- northwestern · Official women’s programme northwestern-wbb-current-published-book-pdf ↗
- northwestern · Official women’s programme northwestern-wbb-2026-own-completed-games ↗
- northwestern · Own historical Division I conference alignment, NCAA native p. 22 ↗
Beyond the Ballot
Meet Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university established in 1851. Its Evanston campus on Lake Michigan is home to the Wildcats; the university also has campuses in Chicago and Doha.
- Location
- Evanston, Illinois
- University Type
- Private · Research
- Founded
- 1851
- Undergraduate Enrollment
- 8,889Fall 2025 · Undergraduate students only
- Nickname
- Northwestern Wildcats
- Women’s basketball Big Ten Conference regular-season championship
- 21989–90 · 2019–20
Sources & References
- Northwestern · University history and facts ↗
- Northwestern · Fall 2025 · Undergraduate students only ↗
- Northwestern · Team and current conference ↗
- NCAA · Complete Division I women’s championship history through 2025 ↗
- UCLA · 2026 NCAA women’s national championship, April 5, 2026 ↗
- NCAA · CIAW, DGWS and all AIAW championship tiers through 1982 ↗
- NCAA · Complete Division II women’s national championship history through 2026 ↗
- NCAA · Complete Division III women’s national championship history through 2026 ↗
- NAIA · Complete women’s national champions, 1981–1991, PDF p. 67 / printed p. 63 ↗
- NCAA · Complete Big Ten regular-season and tournament winners through 2024–25 ↗
- UCLA · Sole 2025–26 Big Ten regular-season and tournament champions, March 20, 2026 ↗
- northwestern · Official women’s programme northwestern-wbb-current-published-book-pdf ↗
- northwestern · Official women’s programme historic-big-ten-1980-native-results ↗
- northwestern · Own historical Division I conference alignment, NCAA native p. 22 ↗
- michigan-state · Official women’s programme msu-wbb-2025-26-native-guide-pdf ↗
Source: Associated Press · Published Basketball Ballots. This page covers the available editions. Each edition states its ballot coverage.