Still the 1: Gamecocks open new season in familiar spot in Top 25
South Carolina women’s basketball will start the 2020-21 season right where it ended the 2019-20 campaign — at No. 1 in the Associated Press poll.
Coach Dawn Staley’s Gamecocks topped the preseason edition of the AP poll released Tuesday, garnering 29 of 30 first-place votes from the panel of national and local media members.
The only other team to receive a first-place vote, Stanford, opened at No. 2 in the poll.
After the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA tournament in March, USC finished last season at No. 1 in both of the AP and coaches polls, taking more than 80% of the first-place votes in each. Dating back to last year, the Gamecocks have topped the AP poll for 11 consecutive weeks now.
Heading into this season, the Gamecocks return three starters and all the key reserves from the 2019-20 squad that finished 32-1 and swept through the SEC regular season and tournament without losing a game. They lose a pair of key seniors in guard Tyasha Harris and forward Mikiah Herbert Harrigan, but they add freshman Eniya Russell, a five-star prospect and McDonald’s All-American, and transfer Destiny Littleton is eligible after sitting out last year.
The rest of Tuesday’s poll was filled with opponents the Gamecocks will see this season.
On the nonconference side, powerhouse UConn checked in at No. 3, defending ACC champion North Carolina State opened at No. 8, SEC-Big 12 Challenge opponent Iowa State came in at No. 15 and mid-major Gonzaga was No. 21.
In the SEC, rival Mississippi State, now coached by former Gamecock assistant Nikki McCray-Penson, will start the year at No. 6. Kentucky, featuring preseason All-American Rhyne Howard, was No. 11, while Texas A&M ranked No. 13 and Arkansas was right behind at No. 14.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 12:07 PM.
