8 biggest surprises in women’s college basketball so far this season

A testament to the growing nature of women’s college basketball, an unprecedented level of parity has taken hold in the sport, with No. 1 and No. 2 going down and unranked preseason teams scaling into the top five… in just November! 

As such, here’s a look at the eight most surprising takeaways from a thrilling opening month of women’s college basketball:

South Carolina… knew they’d be good, but whew

While it’s a bit hard to term yourself an underdog with eight five-star recruits on the roster, the departures of Aaliyah Boston and Zia Cooke left coach Dawn Staley with historic inexperience and skepticism — SC returns no double-digit scorers, a first since 2012, and were not picked to win the SEC Media Poll this offseason. 

Staley took an opposing viewpoint, terming her new-look backcourt of Te-Hina Paopao and Raven Johnson “the best she’s ever coached,” and the hall of fame boss appears to be right on through a month of basketball. 

Her Gamecocks are a perfect 5-0, hitting the century mark against all but one team, bashing in-state rivals Clemson by 69 and scoring 114 points against a top-15 Maryland side. SC currently leads the nation in both offensive and defensive rating — per HerHoopStats, South Carolina is 65.4 points better than a median DI team per 100 possessions — and is the unquestioned top dog in women’s college basketball. 

Iowa… struggling from three early on

Returning three starters from last year’s national championship squad, including reigning Naismith Player of the Year Caitlin Clark, the incendiary Iowa offense, and especially its excellence on the perimeter, figured to continue into the new season. Clark’s surrounding cast struggled mightily from long range though, combining to go 3-29 through two games and saved by a 44-point performance from Clark against No. 8 Virginia Tech. 

And when Clark finally came down with her teammates’ erraticism, the Hawkeyes would fall to unranked Kansas State on a night where Iowa shot just 2-21 from three. Immediate improvement came next time out against Drake, shooting 13-24 from distance, and the Hawkeyes exacted revenge on the Wildcats this past weekend with 12 threes in a seven-point win. 

Iowa fans will hope their team has moved beyond their poor shooting, but these early season woes raise questions about a team particularly reliant on…