South Carolina remains first in the AP women’s top 25

By DOUG FEINBERG
The Associated Press

NEW YORK – South Carolina, which topped the ranking, entered the new season playing three games in the first five days. The Gamecocks were challenged over the weekend at a tournament in South Dakota, but were victorious.

They remained first choice in the Associated Press women’s basketball poll released on Monday, receiving 29 of the 30 first-place votes from a media panel. The top 10 teams remained the same as in the pre-season, with Stanford, UConn, Baylor and Louisville completing the top five.

South Carolina debuted with an 81 point win over Charleston, before beating South Dakota by 10 and then none. 21 Gonzaga for seven.

“I don’t think many teams would leave here undefeated with the talent that was here,” said Gamecocks manager Dawn Staley. “Those were challenging opponents. Challenging. Some people don’t play teams like this because you are susceptible to losing. It was good that this core group of players found their advantage.”

Stanford won his first game, leading coach Tara VanDerveer to three wins behind Pat Summitt’s 1,098 wins. It may take a while for the Cardinal to play again; Santa Clara County on Saturday announced the new COVID-19 rules, which include a three-week ban starting Monday from training and games for contact sports. The cardinal’s game against San Diego, scheduled for Monday, has been canceled.

UConn was also waiting to start its season after the Huskies were put on pause because of a positive coronavirus test in their Tier I group.

Mississippi State, Arizona, North Carolina State, UCLA and Oregon complete the top 10.

Texas, under new coach Vic Schaefer, won their first two games and entered the vote in 25th place in their first ranking since last December. Notre Dame fell.

Here are other top 25 female tips:

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Iowa had the biggest drop in the poll, dropping eight places to 23rd after splitting two games. The Cyclones beat Omaha by 26 points to open the season before falling to the state of South Dakota by 76-69. The team was homesick for coach Bill Fennelly, who is quarantined after exposure to COVID-19. He will lose games this week against TCU and South Carolina. No. 13 Indiana, No. 18 Gonzaga and No. 21 Missouri State rose three places in the vote.

COMING UP COLLIER

Charli Collier had a stellar game for the newly qualified Texas, scoring 44 points in Sunday’s victory over North Texas. It was the highest total score in a single game for a Texas player since 1994 and the fourth highest total in school history.

She hit 14 of her 17 pitches and was 14 of 15 on the free throw line. Add 16 rebounds and two blocks and it was a complete effort.

“My mindset was just to be confident and master painting, which is what I did today,” said Collier. “Our basic attack is on painting, so that’s where I live.”

WELCOME BACK TIANA

Syracuse playmaker Tiana Mangakahia played her first game in 615 days when Syracuse defeated Stony Brook 50-39 on Sunday.

She missed last season to undergo chemotherapy and then had a double mastectomy last November.

The Australian had 16 points, seven rebounds, four steals and three assists for the then null. 23 Orange. Mangakahia, the school’s all-time assistance leader, quickly got involved with a pass to Amaya Finklea-Guity for a tray to open the scoring. A few minutes later, Mangakahia stole and scored his first points in almost two years in a fast attack basket.

“There was a lot going through my head,” said Mangakahia after the 50-39 victory over Stony Brook. “Mainly on the bus. In the warm-ups, there was less emotion because I was just focused. But on the bus, I was very moved and I couldn’t believe that day was here and I could play.”

CORONAVIRUS COUNT

During the first five days of the season, 69 games were canceled or postponed because of COVID-19. No. 3 UConn and 15th ranked Northwestern are still waiting to start their seasons.

GAME OF THE WEEK

South Carolina hosts No. 8 NC State on Thursday in a clash earlier in the season.

ASSOCIATED PRESS WOMEN’S TOP 25 POLL

1. South Carolina (29) 3-0 749 1

2. Stanford (1) 1-0 704 2

3. UConn 0-0 689 3

4. Baylor 1-0 665 4

5. Louisville 2-0 607 5

6. Mississippi St. 1-0 586 6

7. Arizona 1-0 566 7

8. NC State 2-0 564 8

9. UCLA 1-0 494 9

10. Oregon 1-0 477 10

11. Kentucky 2-0 466 11

12. Texas A&M 2-0 412 13

13. Indiana 1-0 342 16

14. Maryland 2-1 327 12

15. Northwestern 0-0 289 17

16. Arkansas 3-1 265 14

17. Oregon St. 1-0 256 18

18. Gonzaga 1-1 193 21

19. Ohio St. 1-0 189 20

20. DePaul 1-1 187 19

21. Missouri St. 2-1 153 24

22. Syracuse 1-0 142 23

23. Iowa St. 1-1 128 15

24. Michigan 2-0 110 25

25. Texas 2-0 65 –

Others who received votes: South Dakota St. 31, North Carolina 24, South Dakota 20, Notre Dame 20, Arizona St. 10, Wake Forest 9, Ohio 6, South Florida 1, Boston College 1, Tennessee 1, Rutgers 1, Duke 1 .