AUSTIN, Texas – The Texas women's basketball team is ranked No. 2 in the Athlon Sports 2017-18 College Basketball Preview magazine, which is on newsstands now.

"This could be a breakout year in Austin under coach Karen Aston ," the magazine says. "The senior backcourt duo of Brooke McCarty and Ariel Atkins will lead the way."

Texas is rated just behind No. 1 UConn, according to the Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview magazine. The remainder of the publication's top five includes No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Notre Dame and No. 5 UCLA.

The Longhorns have made three consecutive NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and are coming off a 25-9 record in 2016-17. Texas finished in second place in the Big 12 Conference for the second consecutive season with a 15-3 tally. With a rigorous schedule a year ago that featured 14 top-25 opponents, the Longhorns recorded seven victories against ranked foes.

Texas in 2016-17 strung together a 19-game winning streak during the course of the season, which ranks tied for the 10th-longest spree in program history. The Longhorns won 14 consecutive games to start Big 12 Conference play, which marked the best start to the Big 12 schedule in school annals.

Texas will be led by a pair of fourth-year players in senior guards Ariel Atkins and Brooke McCarty . McCarty is the defending Big 12 Conference Player of the Year. Both were honorable mention All-America selections last season by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.

The 2017-18 Longhorns will benefit from four players who participated on USA Basketball teams this summer, as part of six players who were invited to tryouts for USA Basketball squads. Atkins was a member of the USA Basketball U23 team that won the gold medal at the U24 Four Nations Tournament, while sophomores Joyner Holmes and Alecia Sutton were part of the USA Basketball U23 Team that took home the silver medal at the FIBA U23 World Cup. Freshman Destiny Littleton won gold with the USA Basketball 3x3 U18 Team at the FIBA 3x3 U18 World Cup.

Texas returns to action on Sunday, November 5 when it plays host to Oklahoma City University, the 2017 NAIA Division I National Champion, in an exhibition game at the Frank Erwin Center. The Longhorns open the 2017-18 regular season on Sunday, November 12, hosting Stetson.