Norman - Oklahoma women’s basketball landed at No. 22 in the preseason AP Top 25 Poll, released Thursday.

The Sooners are one of four Big 12 teams that appear in the top 25. Fellow league foes Texas (No. 2), Baylor (No. 3) and West Virginia (No. 13) are ranked inside the top 25. Kansas State and Oklahoma State also received votes in the preseason poll.

OU will also face four preseason top-25 teams during non-conference play: Connecticut (No. 1), Oregon (No. 11), No. 23 South Florida and DePaul (No. 25). The Sooners will play three of the four non-conference matchups against preseason top-25 teams on the road or at a neutral site.

The ranking marks the 16th all-time appearance for the Sooners in the preseason AP poll under head coach Sherri Coale. The Sooners have appeared in the AP poll for 40 consecutive weeks, which is tied for the 10th-most consecutive appearances in the country. OU finished No. 23 in the poll to conclude the 2016-17 season.

The Sooners return three starters from last year’s team that finished with a 23-10 overall record, advancing to the second round in OU’s 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. OU’s Maddie Manning and Vionise Pierre-Louis were recently recognized as 2017 Preseason All-Big 12 honorable mention selections.

OU opens the 2017-18 season on Friday with an exhibition matchup against Central Oklahoma at Lloyd Noble Center. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT. OU’s regular-season opener is set for Nov. 10 at 7 p.m. CT against Belmont.