A testament to the growing nature of women’s college basketball, an unprecedented level of parity has taken hold in the sport, with No. 1 and No. 2 going down and unranked preseason teams scaling into the top five… in just November!
As such, here’s a look at the eight most surprising takeaways from a thrilling opening month of women’s college basketball:
South Carolina… knew they’d be good, but whew
While it’s a bit hard to term yourself an underdog with eight five-star recruits on the roster, the departures of Aaliyah Boston and Zia Cooke left coach Dawn Staley with historic inexperience and skepticism — SC returns no double-digit scorers, a first since 2012, and were not picked to win the SEC Media Poll this offseason.
Staley took an opposing viewpoint, terming her new-look backcourt of Te-Hina Paopao and Raven Johnson “the best she’s ever coached,” and the hall of fame boss appears to be right on through a month of basketball.
Her Gamecocks are a perfect 5-0, hitting the century mark against all but one team, bashing in-state rivals Clemson by 69 and scoring 114 points against a top-15 Maryland side. SC currently leads the nation…
