The South Carolina women’s college basketball team is No. 1 in the country and also leads the way in our midseason ranking of the top 25 players in the nation. And that includes a unanimous pick at No. 1 in junior forward Aliyah Boston, who garnered all 13 votes. She is one of three Gamecocks on the list, the most of any school.
Defending NCAA champion Stanford has two players, as does Maryland.
UConn’s Paige Bueckers topped our preseason list in November, but the sophomore guard suffered a knee injury on Dec. 5 and hasn’t played since. She had surgery and is rehabilitating, with an expected return in February. Bueckers averaged 21.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists in six games, but her limited play thus far kept her off our updated ranking.
Seven newcomers who weren’t ranked in the preseason are included in the midseason list. Kansas State center Ayoka Lee made the biggest jump, receiving votes in the preseason but now landing in the top 10.
ESPN writers Katie Barnes, Charlie Creme and Mechelle Voepel, The Undefeated’s Sean Hurd and ESPN analysts Debbie Antonelli, Angel Gray, Rebecca Lobo, Carolyn Peck, Steffi Sorensen, Christy Thomaskutty, Brenda VanLengen, Brooke Weisbrod and Stephanie White voted on our panel. The No. 1 player on each ballot received 25 points, No. 2 got 24 points, No. 3 received 23 points and so on.
Antonelli continues to provide scouting reports for each new addition to the rankings; click here to see our preseason rankings and analysis. So many good performances thus far made the voting a challenge past the No. 1 spot. But here are our midseason top 25.
Forward | 6-foot-5 | junior
Preseason ranking: 3
2021-22 stats: 17.1 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 3.2 BPG
One thing wasn’t up for debate with this list: Boston is No. 1. After an offseason fueled by her desire to get stronger, leaner and quicker, Boston has become an even better version of the All-American she was last season. She is shooting 57.8% from the field, which includes nine 3-pointers…
Source : espn
