Mountaineers Start at No. 19 in the AP Poll
On Tuesday, the Associated Press released its 2021-22 preseason top 25, with the West Virginia University Mountaineer women's basketball sitting at No. 19.
The Mountaineers finished 22-7 last season, including reaching the Big 12 Conference tournament championship and a Round of 32 appearance in the NCAA tournament.
West Virginia returns four of its five starters, highlighted by Esmery Martinez and Kirsten "KK" Deans. Martinez, who was voted on the All-Big 12 Preseason team, averaged a double double 13.6 points and 11.6 rebounds per game last season, while Deans is the teams returning leading scorer, averaging 13.7 PPG.
West Virginia was voted fourth in the Preseason Big 12 Conference standings and in addition to Martinez being selected to the All-Big 12 Preseason team, Deans and Kari Niblack was voted honorable mention.
Preseason AP Poll
1. South Carolina
2. UCONN
3. Stanford
4. Maryland
5. NC State
6. Louisville
7. Baylor
8. Indiana
9. Iowa
10. Oregon
11. Michigan
12. Iowa State
13. Kentucky
14. Oregon State
15. Tennessee
16. Florida State
t-17. Ohio State
t-17. Georgia Tech
19. West Virginia
20. UCLA
21. South Florida
22. Arizona
23. Texas A&M
24. Virginia Tech
25. Texas
Others Receiving Votes
Georgia 65, Michigan State 63, Florida Gulf Coast 43, Missouri State 18, South Dakota 13, BYU 11, LSU 10, Arkansas 10, Washington State 9, Notre Dame 8, Oklahoma State 8, DePaul 6, Belmont 5, Oklahoma 3, South Dakota State 1, Mississippi 1.
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