Nov. 1, 2008

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The Associated Press released its preseason women's basketball rankings on Saturday, and once again the Maryland team was near the top. The Terrapins were ranked third, the highest of any Atlantic Coast Conference squad.

The Terps trail only Connecticut, which received 44 of 45 first-place votes, and Stanford, which received the other. Maryland is joined in the poll by ACC rivals North Carolina (#6), Duke (#8) and Virginia (#15).

Last week, the Terps were picked to finish second in the ACC by a blue ribbon panel made up of conference coaches, media and school representatives. Only North Carolina beat them out in that ranking.

Maryland finished last season ranked fifth in the AP poll. The Terps earned a No. 1 seed to the NCAA Tournament and reached the Elite Eight before falling to Stanford. Maryland finished the season 33-4, only the second time in school history the Terps had won 30 games.

Maryland, which was ranked fourth in the AP poll at the start of last season, plays its first exhibition game tomorrow when it takes on DT III, a collection of former college stars which includes former Terp Kalika France. Game time is 2:00 p.m. The game can be heard on WMUC Radio at www.wmucsports.com.

AP TOP 25

1	Connecticut (44)	1124
2	Stanford (1)		1018
3	Maryland	        1005
4	Oklahoma		946
5	Rutgers		        914
6	North Carolina		892
7	Tennessee		857
8	Duke		        815
9	California		769
10	Louisville		726
11	Texas A&M		624
12	Vanderbilt		546
13	Texas		        501
14	Oklahoma State		442
15	Virginia		437
16	Notre Dame		374
17	Arizona State		364
18	Ohio State		359
19	Baylor		        353
20	Auburn		        239
21	Florida State		204
22	Xavier		        170
23	Purdue		        148
24	LSU		        133
25	Old Dominion		124
Others Receiving Votes: Pittsburgh(0-0) 116; Michigan State(0-0) 67; Iowa State(0-0)
 66; Marist(0-0) 58; Marquette(0-0) 56; Utah(0-0) 50; Georgia(0-0) 37; Kansas
State(0-0) 25; Syracuse(0-0) 20; DePaul(0-0) 8; George Washington(0-0) 7; Illinois
State(0-0) 7; Southern California(0-0) 5; West Virginia(0-0) 5; Arkansas(0-0) 3;
Texas-El Paso(0-0) 2; Montana(0-0) 2; Georgia Tech(0-0) 2; Iowa(0-0) 1; Gonzaga(0-0)
1; Liberty(0-0) 1; South Dakota State(0-0) 1; Southern Methodist(0-0) 1

-TERPS-