South Carolina leads the way as women's college basketball hopes to build off last year's success

Dawn Staley and South Carolina ran done past play undefeated connected nan measurement to nan school’s 3rd nationalist championship. With a batch of that squad back, location is bully logic to deliberation nan Gamecocks could repeat.

Standing successful their measurement could beryllium a patient UConn led by Paige Bueckers aliases JuJu Watkins and USC, which added immoderate stellar transfers to thief retired nan sensational sophomore. Those 2 preseason All-Americans dream to prime up nan momentum from past play that was spearheaded by Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese and led to record ratings and attendance for nan NCAA Tournament.

“I cognize we mislaid immoderate awesome ones successful Angel and Caitlin, but we gained truthful overmuch more,” Staley said. “We gained truthful overmuch much talent, accomplishment group and marketability. I’m really looking guardant to it. I’m gladsome it’s happened during a clip successful which I tin attest to it, I tin stock pinch different group who are conscionable now tuning in.”

There are a big of different teams including Texas, UCLA and Notre Dame that besides could situation for nan title. UConn was nan past squad to triumph back-to-back championships, winning 4 consecutive titles from 2013-16. South Carolina hopes to subordinate that inclination and get to Tampa for nan Final Four successful April.

Staley's squad, which is No. 1 successful nan preseason AP poll, is going for its 3rd nationalist title successful 4 years. The Gamecocks completed nan sport’s first undefeated play astatine 38-0 since UConn completed a cleanable tally to nan title successful 2016. South Carolina’s main nonaccomplishment from past play was 6-foot-7 centerpiece Kamilla Cardoso, nan team’s apical scorer and rebounder.

The Gamecocks are besides missing inferior Ashlyn Watkins, a 6-3 defender who led nan SEC pinch 91 blocked shots. She was suspended from nan programme pursuing her apprehension connected Aug. 31 for battle and kidnapping.

The play gets underway connected Nov. 4 pinch a brace of games successful Paris. Last season, nan Gamecocks routed Notre Dame successful nan French capital. This twelvemonth there's a doubleheader pinch No. 3 USC playing No. 20 Ole Miss and No. 17 Louisville facing No. 5 UCLA.

There person been awesome powerfulness shifts successful convention affiliation, pinch Texas and Oklahoma now successful nan SEC while USC and UCLA are successful nan Big Ten. With South Carolina, LSU and now Texas and Oklahoma, nan SEC has four of nan apical 10 teams successful nan preseason poll.

UConn, Texas and Notre Dame each person cardinal players who missed astatine slightest parts of past play to retrieve from ACL injuries. Azzi Fudd of nan Huskies, Rori Harmon of nan Longhorns and Olivia Miles of nan Irish each person been cleared to return. They are 3 of nan apical players successful nan state erstwhile patient and supply their teams will activity astatine guard.

Fudd still has a small spot to spell earlier she's backmost to afloat strength, telling media astatine Big East media time that she does spot nan ray astatine nan extremity of nan passageway for her recovery.

Longtime assistants Kate Paye astatine Stanford and Jan Jensen astatine Iowa took complete their programs aft caput coaches Tara VanDerveer and Lisa Bluder, respectively, retired astatine nan extremity of past season. Neither expects to alteration overmuch arsenic acold arsenic really nan teams will play and while some are conscionable extracurricular nan Top 25, it wouldn't beryllium a daze to spot them classed soon.

The transportation portal was highly progressive again successful women's hoops pinch hundreds of players changing teams. No schoolhouse was deed worse than Oregon State, which made a tally to nan Elite Eight past play earlier losing to South Carolina. With nan Pac-12 dwindling to conscionable 2 schools, nan Beavers mislaid 3 of their starting 5 pinch Raegan Beers going to Oklahoma, Talia Von Oelhoffen to USC and Donovyn Hunter to TCU.

Other effect transfers see Kiki Iriafen (Stanford to USC); Georgia Amoore went pinch her coach Kenny Brooks from Virginia Tech to Kentucky; and Hailey Van Lith changed schools for a 2nd clip since starting astatine Louisville, leaving LSU for TCU.

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AP women’s assemblage basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball and https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll