Women's basketball AP poll: 3 takeaways from the opening week of action

It’s one week into the 2024-25 NCAA women’s basketball season and the favorites are digging their heels in while stars are showing out against elite and lackluster competition alike. Paige Bueckers and JuJu Watkins led their top-five teams to 2-0 starts. Highly recruited freshmen Sarah Strong and Joyce Edwards stepped into starting roles for title favorites UConn and South Carolina, respectively. And a few teams stepped into the limelight via upsets of teams in a preseason poll full of speculation in the transfer portal era.

Here are three takeaways from the first week.

UConn’s health a sight to behold

What a sight to see Geno Auriemma benching all of his starters in Storrs as UConn rolled to an 86-32 season-opening victory against Boston University. All 10 available players again logged significant minutes in an 86-49 win against South Florida on Sunday.

No one is exhaling just yet — it’s a long season — but it’s refreshing to see a fuller bench on the Huskies' end. There were times last year when Auriemma had to coach with seven players available and it drained everybody. Heading into the season, five of the 10 players had never before played in the program, and for a few of them it was because of redshirt seasons. Junior guard Azzi Fudd has still yet to see the floor after rehabbing a knee injury, but she did participate in pregame warmups on Sunday. Aubrey Griffin, Caroline Ducharme and Ayanna Patterson have also yet to return.

The youth is already showing how dangerous UConn can become. Redshirt freshman forward Jana El Alfy (knee) performed well in her long-awaited debut (17 points in 18 minutes). No. 1 recruit Sarah Strong started both games, debuting with 17 points and six steals. Strong is averaging 15 points per game, trailing Paige Bueckers’ team-high 17.5.

Their biggest hurdle early in the season — beyond staying healthy — is what plagued the group at times last year. They can’t sit and watch Bueckers take over games as they did early against South Florida. Part of that is developing chemistry as a group that’s largely never played together.

South Carolina showcases depth early

NC State head coach Wes Moore dropped the “they-are-who-we-thought-they-were” line after his No. 9 ranked Wolfpack lost, 71-57, to South Carolina in the Ally Tipoff on Sunday. And he’s absolutely right. The Gamecocks were one of the deepest teams in the country en route to the national championship, and it remains their most promising advantage to repeat.

It didn’t matter that the Gamecocks were without junior forward Ashlyn Watkins in a win against a feisty Michigan squad in the Hall of Fame Series, then without junior forward Chloe Kitts against NC State. South Carolina ran its winning streak to 40, joining UConn as the only programs with multiple winning streaks of at least 40. Watkins returned in the second game and Kitts (academic reasons) is expected to play on Thursday.

It also didn’t matter that the full starting unit weren’t contributing scorers in either game. Head coach Dawn Staley can still play with matchups and send in waves of starter-level players. Kitts was the only starter in double digits with 19 points and 14 rebounds against Michigan, while sophomore Tessa Johnson came off the bench with 15 points and three 3s. Te-Hina Paopao led against NC State with 23 points, while no other starter hit double digits. MiLayshia Fulwiley backed her up with 18 points in 18 minutes.

Staley said during the preseason that people would soon know and recognize the name of Joyce Edwards, the No. 3 recruit in the class of 2024. The 6-foot-3 forward is a South Carolina native and grew up watching A’ja Wilson as a Gamecock. She neared a double-double in her debut and slotted into the starting lineup in the second game with Kitts out and Watkins merely days into resuming basketball activities. Her development will be key moving forward against bigger frontcourts.

Syla Swords smashes into award consideration

It is far too early to fairly determine frontrunners in an award race, but Michigan freshman Syla Swords already made sure she will be in the conversation. The 6-foot, 18-year-old guard chose Michigan as the No. 4 recruit in the class and spent her summer in Paris, where she competed at the Olympics with the Canadian national team. She’s the youngest basketball player in the country’s history to compete at the Olympics. Her father, Shawn, played for Canada in the 2000 Olympics and is a coach in the NBA’s G League. Her mother also played collegiately.

It contributed to a poised and aggressive debut against the reigning champion Gamecocks. Swords scored 27 points (shooting 47.4%) with 12 rebounds in the near-upset. She followed it up with 20 points (53.3%), six rebounds and five assists in a win over Lehigh in the home opener.

Swords put herself and Michigan on the radar after a measly No. 9 seed and first-round exit last year. The Wolverines face a lackluster non-conference schedule until the Fort Myers Tipoff, where they could play Virginia Tech, and then Oklahoma in the Jumpman Invitational in Charlotte. They’ll have time to develop around Swords before conference play. The new Big Ten, which added UCLA, USC, Washington and Oregon in realignment, is massive in size (18 teams) and elite talent (JuJu Watkins, Lauren Betts, Kiki Iriafen, Cotie McMahon).

Yahoo Sports AP ballot

1. South Carolina
2. UConn
3. Texas
4. USC
5. Notre Dame
6. UCLA
7. Iowa State
8. Oklahoma
9. LSU
10. Maryland
11. Kansas State
12. North Carolina
13. Ohio State
14. West Virginia
15. Louisville
16. NC State
17. Duke
18. Ole Miss
19. Kentucky
20. Nebraska
21. Baylor
22. Iowa
23. Illinois
24. Stanford
25. Michigan

Official AP rankings

1. South Carolina
2. UConn
3. USC
4. Texas
5. UCLA
6. Notre Dame
7. LSU
8. Iowa State
9. Oklahoma
10. Kansas State
11. Maryland
12. Ohio State
13. NC State
14. North Carolina
15. West Virginia
16. Duke
17. Baylor
18. Louisville
19. Ole Miss
20. Kentucky
21. Nebraska
22. Alabama
23. Illinois
24. Oregon
25. Stanford