Pac-12 Women's Basketball Weekly Release - Jan. 25, 2022

COMPLETE RELEASE (PDF)

PAC-12 RUNDOWN

• Three rescheduled contests on Wednesday kick off Pac-12 women's basketball this week. Of the conference's 27 postponed league games to date, three have been subsequently rescheduled and played in addition to the three matchups slated for Jan. 26.

• The week’s action culminates with a rematch of last season’s national championship when No. 8 Arizona is at No. 2 Stanford on Sunday, Jan. 30 at 1 p.m. PT on ESPN2. The game will be the 26th regular-season meeting between a pair of top-10 Pac-12 programs since 1999-2000. The first such matchup this century was when No. 9 Stanford beat No. 10 Arizona State, 73-65, on Jan. 27, 2007. While just 13 conference games pitted AP top-10 foes against each other in the 13 seasons between 2006-07 and 2018-19, 12 have been played in just the past two seasons. 
• Last season was just the seventh time in women’s basketball history that two teams from the same league met for a national championship. In the previous six instances, the champion and runner-up have split their next meetings, with each winning three.

• Three Pac-12 teams are ranked in this week’s AP Top 25 - No. 2 Stanford, No. 8 Arizona and No. 19 Oregon. The Ducks are back in the rankings for the first time since Nov. 29 and their seven-spot jump in the polls is the second largest in-season rise in program history. Oregon moved up 10 spots in late 2000, appearing at No. 24 on Nov. 13 and No. 14 on Nov. 20 following wins against No. 16 Wisconsin (71-58) and No. 19 NC State (50-47). 
• This week’s poll is the 202nd out of 817 all-time that has featured multiple Pac-12 programs in the top 10. Of those 202, 104 have come since the start of the 2015-16 season.
• Rosters for the 2022 McDonald’s All American Games were revealed on ESPN on Tuesday, Jan. 25, and of the 24 women selected to play in the showcase, nine have signed National Letters of Intent to join Pac-12 programs next season, the highest total among all conferences (Oregon/Oregon State/Stanford/UCLA - 2; Arizona - 1). The regular signing period for the Class of 2022 runs from April 13 - May 18, 2022. The McDonald’s All American Girls Game is scheduled for Tuesday, March 29 at 3:30 p.m. PT on ESPN2.

NATIONAL AWARDS CANDIDATES

WADE TROPHY
Watch List
Cameron Brink, Stanford 
Haley Jones, Stanford
Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State
Charisma Osborne, UCLA
Nyara Sabally, Oregon

NAISMITH TROPHY NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Watch List
Cameron Brink, Stanford 
Lexie Hull, Stanford
Haley Jones, Stanford
Taylor Jones, Oregon State
Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State
Nancy Mulkey, Washington
Charisma Osborne, UCLA
Alissa Pili, USC
Nyara Sabally, Oregon
Sam Thomas, Arizona

NAISMITH DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Watch List
Cameron Brink, Stanford 
Nancy Mulkey, Washington

WOODEN AWARD NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Midseason Top 25
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Haley Jones, Stanford
Charisma Osborne, UCLA

Watch List
Mya Hollingshed, Colorado
Lexie Hull, Stanford
Taylor Jones, Oregon State
Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State
Te-Hina Paopao, Oregon
Alissa Pili, USC
Nyara Sabally, Oregon

NAISMITH MEMORIAL BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME AWARDS
Watch Lists

Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year
Gina Conti, UCLA
Dru Gylten, Utah
Te-Hina Paopao, Oregon

Ann Meyers Drysdale Shooting Guard of the Year
Taylor Chavez, Arizona
Lexie Hull, Stanford
Charlisse Leger-Walker, Washington State
Charisma Osborne, UCLA
Sydney Parrish, Oregon

Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year
Haley Jones, Stanford
Sam Thomas, Arizona

Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year
Cameron Brink, Stanford
Taylor Jones, Oregon State
Alissa Pili, USC
Nyara Sabally, Oregon

Lisa Leslie Center of the Year
Francesca Belibi, Stanford
Nancy Mulkey, Washington
Bella Murekatete, Washington State

SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Top 30 Candidates
Dru Gylten, Utah
Lexie Hull, Stanford
Sam Thomas, Arizona

CONFERENCE NOTEBOOK

STUNNING SUCCESS OF LATE

• In a first for the Conference, the Pac-12 is coming off a season in which its top two regular-season finishers – Stanford and Arizona – met for the national championship. The 2021 title game was just the seventh time in women’s basketball history that two teams from the same league met for a championship and was the first to feature two schools from west of the Mississippi River since 1986 (Texas vs. USC).
• Since the 2015-16 season, the Pac-12 leads all conferences in Final Four appearances (6), NCAA Tournament wins (70) and NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.707). 
• In addition to the aforementioned success over the past seven seasons, the Pac-12 also leads all conferences in Final Four appearances since 2012-13 with eight. Those eight appearances have been spread across six different programs - Arizona (2021), California (2013, Oregon (2019), Oregon State (2016), Stanford (2021, 2017, 2014), Washington (2016) - which is two more than any other conference. Simply put, in an amazing display of depth, half of the Pac-12 has appeared in a Final Four in the past eight NCAA Tournaments. The ACC has had four different programs make the Final Four over the same span, the Big East three, the SEC two, and the Big Ten, Big 12 and American each one.
• Against nonconference opponents in the regular season since 2015-16, the Pac-12 leads all leagues with an .794 winning percentage (670-174), ahead of the Big 12 (.786), SEC (.772), ACC (.766) and Big Ten (.725). 
• Not including the pandemic-impacted season of 2020-21, which featured inconsistent nonconference scheduling, the Pac-12 owns two of the three best regular-season, nonconference winning percentages in women’s college basketball since 1999-00.
  • 1. Big 12 - 2011-12 - .861 (99-16)
  • 2. Pac-12 - 2016-17 - .848 (117-21)
  • 3. Pac-12 - 2019-20 - .839 (115-22)
• In the first year using the NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) for women’s basketball, four of the top 10 teams in the final NET rankings for 2021 were from the Pac-12 in Stanford (No. 1), Arizona (No. 7), UCLA (No. 8) and Oregon (No. 10), a total double any other league. The Pac-12 was also the nation’s top-rated conference by RPI in three of the final five seasons (2016, 2017, 2020) that metric was used by the committee.

NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN

• Pac-12 programs signed 35 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period, 21 of whom are in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100 (60.0 percent), including six in the top 10. Six of the nation’s top 14 classes have been put together by Conference programs, including each of the top three and five of the top eight - No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Oregon, No. 3 Oregon State, No. 5 Stanford, No. 8 Arizona and No. 14 Washington.
• In available data dating back a dozen years, no conference has finished a recruiting cycle with as many programs (five) boasting top 10 classes according to espnW HoopGurlz. Since 2007, only one other conference has signed as many top-10 individuals (six) in the espnW HoopGurlz rankings (SEC - 2019).
• Pac-12 programs also signed three top-10 classes in each of the previous three years, totals which led or tied for the national lead each cycle. The Conference’s 15 total espnW HoopGurlz top-10 recruiting classes from 2016-21 were the most in the country.
• The regular signing period for the Class of 2022 runs from April 13 - May 18, 2022.

THE CONFERENCE OF TRIPLE-DOUBLES

• Stanford’s Haley Jones put together the Pac-12’s 54th all-time triple-double with 17 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a 77-55 victory over Portland on Nov. 16 and first since UCLA’s Charisma Osborne had 18 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists against USC on Feb. 26, 2021.
• Per ESPN Stats & Info, a Pac-12 player has now had a triple-double in 11 consecutive seasons, the longest streak by a conference in DI history. Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu is the NCAA record holder in career triple doubles with 26, which is 17 more than second-place Chastadie Barrs of Lamar (9).

OTHER PERFORMANCES OF NOTE

• In a 69-66 victory over then-No. 4 Indiana on Nov. 25, Stanford’s Cameron Brink had 21 points, a career-high 22 rebounds, five assists and five blocks. It is just the third 20-point, 20-rebound, five-assist, five-block performance in women’s college basketball since 1999-2000 and the first against a ranked team (Jasmine Joyner, Chattanooga - Jan. 9, 2016 vs. Furman; Anna Strickland, Houston Baptist - March 10, 2016 vs. Lamar).
• UCLA beat San Jose State, 112-33, on Dec. 5 behind 32 points from IImar’I Thomas and a career-high 31 from Natalie Chou, the third time since 1999-00 that two Pac-12 players from the same team scored 30+ in a game. Washington State’s Lia Galdeira and Tia Presley each had 31 in a 107-100 victory over Oregon on March 6, 2014 and Arizona beat the Ducks, 119-112, on Jan. 16, 2010 behind 36 points from Davellyn Whyte and 32 from Ify Ibekwe.
• Utah freshman Gianna Kneepkens poured in 29 points off the bench against No. 21 BYU on Dec. 4. Tied for the ninth-best scoring output for a Pac-12 player off the bench since 1999-00, it’s the best since Minyon Moore had 32 as a sub for USC against Washington State on Feb. 17, 2017.
• Arizona State’s Jade Loville put up 34 points in a 79-60 win at San Diego on Dec. 18, the highest total for a Pac-12 player in a nonconference road game since Aari McDonald had 44 for Arizona in an 83-58 win over then-No. 22 Texas on Nov. 17, 2019. Loville’s 34 points are the most for a Pac-12 player in a game this season.
• Also on Dec. 18, Stanford’s Haley Jones put up 18 points, 19 rebounds and six assists in a 74-63 victory over then-No. 7 Tennessee in Knoxville, becoming the ninth player this century with 15 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in an AP top-10 matchup. Three of those nine performances are from the Cardinal, including Cameron Brink in the aforementioned game against then-No. 4 Indiana (21 points, 22 rebounds, five assists). Jones is only the second player of the nine to have that line in a true road game, joining Stanford’s Chiney Ogwumike, who had 21 points, 19 rebounds and five assists in a 73-60 win for the then-No. 1 Cardinal at No. 10 Tennessee on Dec. 22, 2012.
• At Washington Sate on Jan. 2, Jones put together her fourth double-double of the season with 24 points on 10-of-14 shooting (.714) and 16 rebounds to go along with three assists. One of four players in the country this season to have a game with 24 points, 16 rebounds and three assists, she is the only one to do it while shooting 70.0 percent from the floor, and the only one to do it on the road. It was the eighth 24-point, 16-rebound, three-assist performance by a Pac-12 player in a true road game since 1999-00 and just the second done while shooting at least 70.0 percent. Oregon’s Jillian Alleyne had 29 points on a perfect 11-for-11 shooting, 20 rebounds and three assists in an 84-72 win at Arizona on Jan. 31, 2014.
• Four-time Pac-12 Freshman of the Week Jayda Curry of California is the nation’s leading freshman scorer, and 15th overall, averaging 20.3 points per game.

WATCH LIST WATCH

• Three Pac-12 players were included when the Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List was unveiled on Jan. 5 in Stanford’s Cameron Brink and Haley Jones, and UCLA’s Charisma Osborne.
• The Pac-12 boasted 41 total selections from 10 schools on preseason watch lists for the Wade Trophy, Wooden Award, Naismith Trophy and Naismith Starting 5 positional awards. The Conference’s 41 overall preseason watch list candidates were tied for the most in the country (SEC) and were the most on a per membership basis (3.42/member). The Pac-12 had more players on the preseason Wooden Award (10) and Naismith Trophy (9) watch lists than any other league.
• Three Pac-12 standouts were among the 30 candidates announced for the 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award on Dec. 7 in Dru Gylten (Utah), Lexie Hull (Stanford) and Sam Thomas (Arizona). To be eligible, a student-athlete must be classified as a senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. 

LEARNING FROM THE BEST

• Eleven of the 12 current Pac-12 head coaches have guided programs to postseason play, with nine earning Division I NCAA Tournament berths, including seven advancing to the Elite Eight (Barnes, Turner Thorne, Graves, Rueck, VanDerveer, Close, Gottlieb). 
• Five of the Conference’s head coaches have led a team to the Final Four in Arizona’s Adia Barnes, Oregon’s Kelly Graves, Oregon State’s Scott Rueck, Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer and USC’s Lindsay Gottlieb, who took California in 2013.
• Of the country’s 15 active NCAA head coaches who have led a Division I team to the Final Four (including Rutgers’ C. Vivian Stringer, who is taking a leave of absence in 2021-22), five are from the Pac-12, which is tied with the SEC for the most among all leagues. 
• However, the Pac-12’s five have all coached a team from their own Conference in a national semifinal, while only two of the SEC’s five have done so (Dawn Staley – South Carolina; Gary Blair – Texas A&M).

TOP TALENT THRIVES OUT WEST

• Pac-12 schools have signed 31 espnW HoopGurlz top-25 recruits since 2016, the second-highest total among all leagues (ACC – 36). 
• But since 2016, the Pac-12 leads all conferences with 13 Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Americans. Arizona’s Aari McDonald and Stanford’s Kiana Williams landed on the 10-member team in 2021, giving the Conference multiple WBCA All-Americans for the third consecutive season and fifth in the past six.
• The Conference also boasts a NCAA-high 16 U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) first-, second- and third-team All-Americans since 2016, one more than the Big Ten (15) and two ahead of the SEC (14).

PAC-12 IN THE PROS

• Two first-round picks highlighted five overall selections from the Pac-12 in the 2021 WNBA Draft. The Conference has had multiple first-round selections in each of the past five drafts and at least four overall picks in the past eight drafts, active streaks which lead all leagues by three years. The SEC has had multiple first rounders in two consecutive drafts and the Big 12 has had at least four total selections in the past two.
• Aari McDonald (Arizona) was first off the board, going to the Atlanta Dream with the No. 3 overall pick and Michaela Onyenwere (UCLA) was selected by the New York Liberty at No. 6. Kiana Williams (Stanford) went to the Seattle Storm with the sixth pick in the second round (18th overall) and was followed by Trinity Baptiste (Arizona), who was taken with the final pick in the second round (24th overall) by the Indiana Fever. Aleah Goodman (Oregon State) rounded out the Pac-12 selections when she was chosen by the Connecticut Sun with the sixth pick in the third round (30th overall).
• Onyenwere’s debut season with the Liberty garnered her WNBA Rookie of the Year honors. The first Bruin to earn the award, she joined Stanford's Nneka (2012) and Chiney Ogwumike (2014) as other Pac-12 alumnae to earn the honor.

#OLYMPIANSMADEHERE

• Twelve Pac-12 women’s basketball players from eight schools represented seven National Olympic Committees at the 2020 Summer Games. The Conference’s 12 women’s basketball Olympians in Tokyo were more than any other league.

THE ALLIANCE

• On Aug. 24, the ACC, Big Ten and Pac-12 announced an historic alliance that will bring 41 world-class institutions together on a collaborative approach surrounding the future evolution of college athletics and scheduling. The alliance – which was unanimously supported by the presidents, chancellors and athletics directors at all 41 institutions – will be guided in all cases by a commitment to, and prioritization of, supporting student-athlete well-being, academic and athletic opportunities, experiences and diverse educational programming. More details at pac12.me/Alliance.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS (Expanded Standings) 

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (Full Schedule)

PAC-12 PERFORMANCE AWARDS PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA