With three All-Americans returning off a Final Four team, the UConn women's basketball team was the overwhelming No. 1 team in the Associated Press' preseason poll.

Connecticut, led by its top three returning scorers in Maya Moore, Renee Montgomery and Tina Charles, received 44 of the 45 first-place votes.

UConn, which was 36-2 last season, had 1,124 points which was 106 ahead of No. 2 Stanford. The Cardinal, which defeated UConn in the 2008 national semifinals, picked up the other first-place vote. It is the first time the Huskies will begin the season as the No. 1 team in the AP poll since the 2003-04 season which happened to be Diana Taurasi's senior season.

Taurasi would lead UConn to its third straight national title.

Seven teams on UConn's schedule are in the top 25 - No. 4 Oklahoma, No. 5 Rutgers, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 10 Louisville, No. 16 Notre Dame, No. 21 Florida State and No. 24 Louisiana State. Big East teams Pittsburgh, Marquette, Syracuse, DePaul and West Virginia are among other teams which received votes but failed to crack the top 25.

The Huskies will play Stonehill in its first exhibition game on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Gampel Pavilion. The season opener will be Nov. 16 against Georgia Tech at Gampel Pavilion, a game where the 1994-95 national championship team will be inducted into the "Huskies of Honor."