As preseason Associated Press All-Americans, Sue Bird, Stacey Dales, Chantelle Anderson, LaToya Thomas and Alana Beard were part of an elite group back in November.

Now it's February and time to check on whether they're living up to the hype.

Bird, the point guard for No. 1 Connecticut, has been as quietly effective and efficient as ever in leading the Huskies to a 24-0 record. She gets the team into its offense, sets up her teammates and scores when needed.

In a lineup filled with players who can score, Bird is averaging 14.4 points, 6.1 assists and 2.5 steals. She's shooting 50 percent from the field and has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.5-1.

"She to me is the one person that makes them work," Oklahoma coach Sherri Coale said. "If Sue Bird was not on the roster, they would look a lot different. She controls the tempo."

Dales is the floor leader for No. 4 Oklahoma, which took a 17-2 record into the weekend. Like Bird, her game is making the right plays instead of the spectacular ones.

Her numbers are down slightly from last season, when she was the Big 12 Player of the Year, and she struggled in a couple of marquee games, scoring only five points against Purdue and 11 on 3-for-8 shooting against Connecticut.

Still, Dales is averaging 15.7 points, five assists and 4.7 rebounds. She scored a career-high 29 points in a victory over Oklahoma State on Tuesday.

"She is what really makes that team go," Oklahoma State coach Dick Halterman said. "I don't think you can ever look past her. I really think Stacey gets done what Stacey wants to get done."

Anderson, a 6-foot-6 junior at No. 8 Vanderbilt, is averaging 20.2 points and shooting 66 percent. While that would be sizzling for most players, it's down from here nation-leading 72.3 percent mark last season, and she's shooting just 57.5 percent in Southeastern Conference games.

One reason is that Anderson has tried to expand her game by shooting farther from the basket. Also, the Commodores' outside shooting has faltered in recent games, allowing teams to pack in their defenses against Anderson.

Vandy coach Jim Foster said Anderson has responded by toughening up and is stronger now taking the ball to the basket.

	Thomas

Thomas, a junior at Mississippi State, is third nationally in scoring at 23.5 points a game and averages 9.7 rebounds. Her numbers are even better in Southeastern Conference games -- 25.1 points and 9.8 rebounds.

Thomas scored 43 points against Georgia on Jan. 13, matching the second-best single-game total this season in Division I, and grabbed 22 rebounds against Montana.

Beard, just a sophomore, has done a little of everything for No. 5 Duke. She leads the Blue Devils in scoring (19.0), assists (5.2) and steals (3.5) and is second in rebounding (6.3). Beard is shooting 46 percent from 3-point range and 57.3 percent overall.

"Alana has turned into a Michael Jordan-type player," Clemson coach Jim Davis said. "She does it all. She has no weaknesses."

Lucky break
After Minnesota was forced out of its arena because of water damage, coach Brenda Oldfield isn't sure she wants to go back.

The damage forced the No. 22 Gophers to move their home games from the Sports Pavilion, which seats 5,700, to Williams Arena, which seats 14,625 and is known for its elevated floor.

In their first game at Williams, the Gophers drew a school-record 11,389 fans for a victory over Indiana.

"It was just tremendous," Oldfield said. "We've got to hope we continue to have these big crowds. If we're averaging over 6,000, we might need to re-evaluate the possibility of playing in Williams Arena all the time."

The shooting background at Williams Arena can be disconcerting, but Oldfield said it was no problem for her players.

"It think it's difficult for opponents. Our kids were remarking how much they loved it," Oldfield said. "They were really commenting on how much they enjoyed playing on the court and in that atmosphere."

Streaky shooter
Her record-breaking streak is over, so Long Island's Kim MacMillan is trying to start another.

MacMillan's streak of games with at least one 3-pointer ended at 60 when she went 0-for-7 from beyond the arc against Sacred Heart on Jan. 24. She broke the NCAA record when her streak reached 54 against Buffalo on Dec. 29.

Sandy Brown of Middle Tennessee State held the record of 53, which she reached in the 1998-99 season.

MacMillan started her streak on Jan. 29, 2000. After being blanked against Sacred Heart, she made a 3 in her only game since then.

A 5-foot-7 junior, MacMillan has hit a 3-pointer in 76 of her 78 games with the Blackbirds and has 266 in her career.

Super 'Nova
Speaking of 3-point shooting, Villanova is heating up from behind the arc.

Villanova has made 31 3-pointers in its last two games. The Wildcats sank 17 3s -- the most in a Division I game this season -- in an 88-45 victory over West Virginia and hit 14 in an 80-52 win over Miami.

It's the first time ever that Villanova has scored 80 points in consecutive Big East games. Prior to those two games, the Wildcats had been averaging only 59.5 points.

Here, there and everywhere
Temple's Dawn Staley is a coach on the move.

On Thursday night, Staley will be the host at a black-tie fund-raising dinner for her foundation in suburban Philadelphia. The next morning, she flies to Dayton, Ohio, to join her team for a game there Friday night.

Saturday, Staley flies back to Philadelphia to work with World B. Free as co-host for the All-Star Jam Session, part of the activities for the NBA All-Star game. On Sunday, Staley will fly to Cincinnati for her team's game with Xavier.

All this after Staley became the first woman to receive the Native Son award from the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association.