Media Tab California To Win Pac-12 Title
BERKELEY – The media have tabbed California as the preseason favorite to win the Pac-12 title while also selecting Brittany Boyd and Reshanda Gray to the five-member preseason All-Pac-12 team, the conference office announced Wednesday.
It is the highest that the Bears have been selected in the preseason poll by the media, ending a string of 15 consecutive seasons that Stanford was the preseason No. 1. The Bears edged out their Bay Area rivals by four points with Cal collecting nine first-place votes, Stanford collecting seven first-place votes, and Oregon State collecting one.
California, Stanford and Oregon State made up the top three teams in the poll, followed by UCLA and Washington. Arizona State, USC, Washington State, Oregon, Utah, Colorado and Arizona round out the rest of the picks.
Boyd and Gray were two of five players selected to the media’s preseason All-Pac-12 team alongside Jillian Alleyne of Oregon, Jazmine Davis of Washington and Amber Orrange of Stanford.
Boyd was on the media preseason team last year after leading Cal to its first-ever NCAA Women’s Final Four in 2013, after tying for the program’s first-ever Pac-12 regular-season crown. Last year, she averaged 14.7 points per game while leading the Conference with 5.97 assists per game. Gray had a career season last year, averaging 16.8 ppg and 8.8 rpg. The duo led the Bears to a third-straight NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Lindsay Gottlieb.
The Bears open the year with a free exhibition game on Saturday, Nov. 1 against Vanguard before beginning the regular season two weeks later at Pacific on Nov. 16. Ticket packages are available through the Cal Athletic Ticket Office, online or by calling 1-800-GO-BEARS.
2014-15 Pac-12 Women's Basketball Preseason Media Poll
1. California (9) – 194
2. Stanford (7) – 190
3. Oregon State (1) – 162
4. UCLA – 144
5. Washington – 126
6. Arizona State – 111
7. USC – 106
8. Washington State – 98
9. Oregon – 74
10. Utah – 57
11. Colorado – 42
12. Arizona – 22
(First-Place Votes)
2014-15 All-Pac-12 Preseason Team (Media)
Jillian Alleyne, Oregon
Brittany Boyd, California
Jazmine Davis, Washington
Reshanda Gray, California
Amber Orrange, Stanford