This year in Pac-12 women's basketball

May 1, 2015

The Pac-12 closed another successful chapter in its women’s basketball history with another history-making campaign. OREGON STATE captured the program’s first-ever Pac-12 regular-season crown, while STANFORD claimed its 11th Conference tournament title. Five Pac-12 teams earned NCAA Tournament berths for the second-consecutive year, while two more participated in the WNIT with UCLA claiming the WNIT title. Four players were tabbed Associated Press second- or third-team All-Americans and four were selected in the WNBA Draft.

Four league teams appeared in the final top-25 polls. Advancing to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen, ARIZONA STATE ended the season ranked in the top 25 for the first time since 2008-09, ranking No. 9 by the AP poll and No. 8 in the WBCA Coaches poll. It is the first time since 2006-07 the Sun Devils were in the top 10 in the final polls. OSU was No. 10, its first time in the final AP polling since 1995-96, and No. 13 in the coaches poll. The Cardinal was No. 14 in both, and CALIFORNIA was tabbed No. 24 by the writers.

Cal’s Brittany Boyd earned national recognition, beginning with second-team AP All-America honors and was selected a member of the WBCA All-America squad. Teammate Reshanda Gray, OREGON’s Jillian Alleyne and OSU’s Ruth Hamblin were third team honorees. Hamblin is the first OSU player to nab All-America nods in nearly two decades. Beavers head coach Scott Rueck repeated as the WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year.

The league’s coaches voted Cal’s Reshanda Gray the Pac-12 Player of the Year, the first Golden Bear to earn the honor since 2007. The media differed in their player of the year pick. voting Oregon State’s Ruth Hamblin. The coaches and media agreed on their other major awards, selecting UCLA’s Jordin Canada the Conference’s Freshman of the Year; Hamblin was the Defensive Player of the Year and OSU’s Scott Rueck was the Coach of the Year.

In addition to Stanford and Oregon State participating in the Big Dance, ASU, Cal and WASHINGTON earned NCAA Tournament bids. The Sun Devils were joined by the Cardinal in the Sweet Sixteen. The Huskies’ NCAA Tourney appearned this season was their first since 2007. WASHINGTON STATE also participated in the postseason, earning a spot in the WNIT.

Hamblin and UTAH’s Taryn Wicijowski were also just as impressive off the court this season, earning a place on the Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-America team with Wicijowski being voted to the first team and Hamblin to the second team. Wicijowski was also named the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete of the Year. A biology and psychology major with a 3.98 grade point average, she became just the sixth player in school history to tally at least 1,700 points and 900 rebounds in a career.