COLUMBIA — After 37 consecutive weeks at No. 1 in the AP Top 25, South Carolina women's basketball will begin the 2023-24 season ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll.

The Gamecocks received the second-highest preseason ranking among SEC teams, coming in behind only reigning national champion LSU at No. 1. The conference landed three other teams in the top 25: No. 11 Tennessee, No. 12 Ole Miss and No. 25 Mississippi State.

The most recent AP poll was March 13 before the NCAA Tournament started. South Carolina had not ranked lower than No. 1 since finishing the 2020-21 season at No. 5.

South Carolina will face five non-conference teams that earned a preseason ranking, starting with the opener against No. 10 Notre Dame in Paris on Nov. 6 (1 p.m., ESPN). The Gamecocks play their first home game against No. 14 Maryland on Nov. 12, and will see No. 16 North Carolina and No. 5 Utah before Christmas. No. 2 UConn closes out the slate on Feb. 11.

In 2022-23, South Carolina completed the first undefeated regular season in program history and swept the SEC regular season and tournament championships. The team reached a third consecutive Final Four before suffering its lone loss of the season to 2-seed Iowa and Caitlin Clark in the semifinals. The Hawkeyes open 2023-24 at No. 3.

The Gamecocks graduated seven seniors, including its entire starting lineup. Three were selected in the first round of the 2023 WNBA Draft, and No. 1 overall pick Aliyah Boston became the third South Carolina alumna to win WNBA Rookie of the Year since 2017.

The team's top returner in 2023-24 is 6-foot-7 center Kamilla Cardoso, who averaged 9.8 points and 8.5 rebounds off the bench last season. South Carolina also filled some holes in the transfer portal with former Oregon standout Te-Hina Paopao and No. 1 junior college prospect Sakima Walker. The Gamecocks' 2023 freshman class is headlined by MiLaysia Fulwiley, the No. 13 recruit in the country and No. 2 point guard.

Follow South Carolina women's basketball reporter Emily Adams on X @eaadams6 and subscribe to The Greenville News for exclusive Gamecocks content: https://subscribe.greenvilleonline.com/offers.

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This article originally appeared on Greenville News: South Carolina women's basketball ranked No. 6 in preseason AP poll