This week in Pac-12 women's basketball

Dec 30, 2014

WASHINGTON KNOCKS OFF A&M; USC/UCLA OPEN UP PAC-12 SEASON

With the change over of the calendar, comes the change over to Pac-12 Conference play. The Pac-12 features three 10-win teams, ARIZONA STATE, WASHINGTON and OREGON STATE. UCLA and USC officially open up Pac-12 play on Tuesday, December 30 at the Galen Center, before the full slate opens on January 3 and 5. The Sun Devils, at No. 22 in the AP poll, along with Oregon State (No. 13) and Stanford (No. 15) all enter this week in the AP top-25. NR/23 WASHINGTON closed out the non-conference season with a convincing 70-49 win over No. 5 Texas A&M on Monday to win its 11th-straight game. It was the fourth top-10 victory for the Pac-12 this season.

OREGON STATE saw its season-high 10-game win streak fall at No. 8 Tennessee last week, but continues to be one of the nation’s hottest teams having won 10 of 11 games this season.

11-win ARIZONA STATE has won seven-straight and hosts Washington State and Washington this week. WASHINGTON STATE has won five in a row and are a perfect 4-0 on the road this season. 15/15 STANFORD, which beat then-No. 1 UConn earlier this year, has rebounded to win two-straight. The Cardinal host Colorado and Utah this week.

CALIFORNIA closed out the non-conference slate on Monday with a win over Old Dominion to snap a three-game losing streak. The Bears dropped out of the top-25 a few weeks ago after losing Courtney Range and her 14.3 points per game. The Bears also play 7-win Colorado and 6-5 Utah and are 5-1 at Haas Pavilion this year.