Pac-12 women's basketball tips off this week

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FOUR DAYS, FOUR RANKED OPPONENTS TO TIP OFF 2014-15

The 2014-15 campaign kickoffs on Friday with eight of the Conference’s 12 teams in action, with an early top-10 showdown at Stanford set for Monday, November 17 with top-ranked UConn and 6/6 STANFORD doing battle at Maples Pavilion at 6 p.m. PT on ESPN2. 

On the slate for the first weekend, UCLA travels to the East Coast to face Colonial Athletic Conference champion James Madision, before a  Sunday showdown at No. 13 North Carolina. The Women of Troy meanwhile are next door in the Palmetto State playing at No. 2-ranked and defending SEC Champion South Carolina. WASHINGTON STATE hosts A-10 regular season champion, No. 22 Dayton to open the season on Friday, November 14. 

The Pac-12 features four teams ranked in the top 25, headlined by the Cardinal which is in the preseason top seven for the ninth consecutive year. Twenty-two win 15/16 CALIFORNIA has made nine-straight post-season appearances, followed by 20/21 OREGON STATE, which won a school-record 24 times last year and 23/23 UCLA, which battled through an injury plagued 2013-14 campaign, but features the No. 1-ranked recruiting class this season.

Showing the depth of the Conference, three others received votes in the national polls-- OREGON with new head coach Kelly Graves and his 8 career NCAA appearances; 23-win ARIZONA STATE and Pac-12 Tournament Champions USC. Last year seven teams won at least 19 games, five made the NCAA Tournament and four played in the WNIT. The Cardinal dropped a Final Four decision to UConn while WASHINGTON advanced to the WNIT Championship Game.