SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A day after beating top-ranked Connecticut, Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw set out to try to make sure the Irish remain winners.

	Notre Dame's Ruth Riley, left, and Kelley Siemon had plenty to celebrate Monday.

She flew to Miami to meet with Allison Bustamante, a 5-foot-11 guard who signed a letter of intent in November. She hit the road as coach of the only unbeaten women's team in the country, fresh off its first win over the Huskies, who had a 30-game winning streak snapped.

"I think it's great for recruiting. Kids turn that game on TV and everyone knows that UConn is a great team, so if we beat them, we must be a great team," McGraw said following the 92-76 victory Monday. "I think now people are going to talk about Notre Dame as well as Connecticut."

That would be a first for Notre Dame, which generally has been ranked in the group below perennial powers Connecticut and Tennessee.

"When you listen to any game on TV, the talk is about Tennessee and Connecticut and who can beat Connecticut," McGraw said. "There was a game on the other night and they said, 'Here are the teams that can beat Connecticut.' And we weren't one of them."

The Irish had lost 11 straight games to the Huskies, losing by an average score of 17.6 points, and had been 0-9 against top-ranked teams.

"I think we looked at this game as a way to gain some respect even though we didn't talk a lot about it," McGraw said. "I think in our minds we all knew this is what you've got to do to be successful."

The Irish (17-0, 6-0 Big East) will remain No. 3 for the rest of the week, but could move up to No. 1. They play at Seton Hall on Sunday.

Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma said they should be No. 1.

"Absolutely," said Auriemma, whose team has held the top ranking in 30 straight polls. "There's not even a question about that."

They made believers of the 11,418 fans as well. "We're No. 1," chants began with 19 seconds left in the game.

"It's not something I'm concerned about right now," McGraw said. "The polls are going to do whatever they want, and that's fine with me. We just want to be there in March."

The Irish also received some good news Tuesday. Forward Kelley Siemon, who originally thought she would be out for a month after breaking a bone in her left hand on Saturday, can continue to play as long as she feels well enough. She had 15 points, eight rebounds and five assists against UConn with her left hand taped and covered with a protective pad.