South Carolina coach Dawn Staley has found a way for her team to avoid early-season upsets despite losing all five starters from last year’s Final Four squad.
The Gamecocks remained the unanimous choice at No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 women’s basketball poll on Monday, receiving all 36 first-place votes from a national media panel. Staley’s team has already beaten four ranked opponents, and she thinks the Gamecocks are only starting to figure themselves out.
“We are only going to get better,” Staley said after her team beat No. 11 Utah. “That’s the thing. I think this is the worst we’re going to be. And we’re just in December.”
UCLA, North Carolina State, Iowa and Texas followed the Gamecocks in the Top 25. USC, LSU, Colorado, Stanford and Baylor rounded out the top 10. It was the first time this season that the top 10 teams were unchanged in the poll after a…
