AP No. 11

STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford will open the 2016-17 season ranked 11th in the Associated Press women's basketball poll, the organization announced Tuesday. It's the 17th consecutive season the Cardinal has appeared in the preseason AP rankings.
 
Stanford closed out 2015-16 ranked 13th in the same poll. The Cardinal made its 18th overall trip to the Elite Eight and 10th in the last 13 years in 2015-16, posting a 27-8 overall record and a 14-4 mark in Pac-12 play. The Cardinal won 25 games for the 15th straight year and became the seventh Division I institution to reach the 1,000-victory plateau when it beat Oregon State on February 26.
 
Stanford has now appeared in the AP rankings 496 times out of 711 total polls since 1977 (69.7 percent), with an average positioning of 7.0. It's been in the past 287 polls, the second-longest active streak behind Connecticut (432). The Cardinal's 496 all-time appearances in the AP top 25 are fourth behind Tennessee (693), Georgia (522) and Texas (502).
 
Stanford kicks off its regular-season with five straight home games beginning on Friday, Nov. 11 against Cal Poly. Highlighting Stanford's nonconference slate are a pair of matchups against fellow Elite Eight squads from last season in No. 8 Texas and No. 13 Tennessee. The Cardinal hosts the Longhorns on Monday, Nov. 14 at 5 p.m. in a nationally-televised game on ESPN2 that is part of ESPN's ninth annual College Hoops Tip-Off Marathon. Stanford's storied rivalry with Tennessee adds another chapter in Knoxville on Sunday, Dec. 18 at 3 p.m. ET on SEC Network.
 
The Pac-12 has five teams in the preseason poll with No. 9 UCLA, No. 17 Washington, No. 18 Arizona State and No. 25 Oregon State joining No. 11 Stanford among the nation's top 25.
 
Season tickets, mini plans and single-game seats are on sale now by visiting gostanford.com/tickets or calling 800-STANFORD.

Associated Press Preseason Top 25