Women's Basketball Pac-12 Conference

Pac-12 Women's Basketball Weekly Rundown - March 1, 2023

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PAC-12 RUNDOWN

  • 1x2 For the seventh time in Conference history and first since 2015-16, the leagues regular-season title was shared by multiple programs in Stanford and Utah. It was the Cardinals third consecutive title and 26th overall and the first for the Utes. The two split their regular-season meetings and Stanford secured the No. 1 seed at the Pac-12 Tournament, its 16th all-tme, by virtue of its 2-0 record against No. 3 seed Colorado. Utah was 1-1 against the Buffs. The Cardinal and Utes were both No. 1 seeds when the NCAA womens basketball committee released its second and final early top-16 reveal on Feb. 23. The Pac-12 was the only league with multiple teams on the top line and has only had two top seeds once previously (1990; Stanford & Washington).
  • 3 Colorado nabbed the second bye in program history (2013) by locking down the No. 3 seed, the best for the Buffs since joining the Pac-12, with a 95-69 victory over California on Feb. 25. This season, CU will be making back-to-back NCAA Tournament trips for the first time since it earned four consecutive berths from 2001-04.
  • 4, 5, 6 Arizona, UCLA and USC all tied for fourth with 11-7 league marks. The Wildcats earned the No. 4 seed and their fourth-straight, first-round bye, the leagues second-longest active streak (Stanford), because of their 2-0 record against the group (UCLA - 2-1; USC - 0-3). After removing Arizona and moving to a two-team tiebreaker between UCLA and USC, the Bruins grabbed the No. 5 seed because of their two regular-season victories over the Trojans. The Wildcats have won at least 10 Pac-12 contests in four consecutive seasons for the first time since 2002-05. USCs No. 6 seed is its best since the Trojans won it all as a No. 5 seed in 2014, also the year of their last NCAA Tournament appearance.
  • 8 An NCAA-best eight Pac-12 teams are in the top 40 of the latest NET rankings - No. 3 Stanford, No. 7 Utah, No. 18 Oregon, No. 21 Colorado, No. 25 UCLA, No. 26 Arizona, No. 31 USC and No. 39 Washington State
  • 7 ESPNs latest Bracketology from Tuesday, Feb. 28 features seven Pac-12 teams in the field - No. 1 seed Stanford, No. 1 seed Utah, No. 4 seed Colorado, No. 5 seed UCLA, No. 6 seed Arizona, No. 10 seed USC and No. 10 seed Washington State. Oregon is among the first four out and Washington among the next four out. The Conferences record of NCAA Tournament participants is seven in 2016-17.
  • 40.92 The countrys deepest conference, Pac-12 schools have an average NET positioning of 40.92, which is tops in the nation (ACC - 44.53; SEC - 51.07; Big 12 - 51.80; Big Ten - 59.64).
  • 10 Stanford leads the nation with 10 AP Top 25 wins and also has eight wins against the top 25 in the NET (8-2), which is second to UConns 10 (10-3).
  • 35 Only 35 D1 teams have multiple wins against NET top 25 opponents this season and nine of those are from the Pac-12 (Stanford - 8, Utah - 5; Arizona - 4; Colorado/UCLA/USC/Washington State - 3; Oregon State/Washington - 2), a total that only trails the 15-team ACC (10).
  • 2.75 Pac-12 programs have combined for an average of 2.75 wins against NET top 25 opponents this season, which leads the nation (ACC - 2.60; Big Ten - 2.07; Big 12 - 1.60; SEC - 1.07).

NUMBERS OF NOTE

  • The nations second-leading shot blocker, Stanfords Cameron Brink has 109 this season, which is good for seventh in league history and the most for any player outside the state of Oregon. Ahead of her on the list are Oregon States Ruth Hamblin (3x) and Patricia Bright and Oregons Stefanie Kasperski (2x). Her 288 career blocks are fourth in Pac-12 history. Third on the list is USCs Lisa Leslie who had 321 rejections from 1991-94.
  • Utahs Alissa Pili leads the league in both scoring (20.6) and field goal percentage (.599) and is one of two players in the country averaging those numbers this season (Mackenzie Holmes - Indiana). Also second in the Conference in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting 45.8 percent from behind the arc (27-of-59), Pili is tracking to become just the second NCAA womens basketball player since 1999-2000 to average 20.0 points, hit 60.0 percent from the floor and make at least 20 3-pointers in a single season (Napheesa Collier - UConn; 2016-17).
  • USC forward Rayah Marshall is the only player in the Pac-12 and one of seven major conference players nationally averaging a double-double this season (12.9 ppg, 11.7 rpg). Californias Kristine Anigwe in 2018-19 (22.5 ppg, 16.2 rpg) is the last Pac-12 player to average a double-double for an entire season.
  • Averaging 11.1 points, 5.0 assists and 2.4 steals per game this season, Colorados Jaylyn Sherrod is the only player in the Pac-12 and one of four players nationally averaging 11 points, five assists and two steals. Its been four seasons since the Conference has had a player average those numbers. Colorados Kennedy Leonard (12.6 ppg, 6.8 apg, 2.7 spg) and USCs Minyon Moore (14.8 ppg, 5.9 apg, 2.6 spg) did so in 2018-19.

BEST CONFERENCE IN NON-CONFERENCE

  • Pac-12 teams finished with a national-best .852 (115-20) non-conference winning percentage this season, ahead of the ACC (.818, 139-31), Big 12 (.803, 94-23), SEC (.791, 144-38), Big Ten (.760, 117-37) and Big East (.755, 80-26).
  • The leagues .852 clip is a new Pac-12 record, bettering the .848 mark (117-21) from 2016-17 when a Conference-record seven teams earned NCAA Tournament berths.
  • Not including the pandemic-impacted season of 2020-21, which featured inconsistent and erratic non-conference scheduling, the Pac-12s .852 winning percentage is the best in the NCAA since the Big 12 won 86.1 percent (99-16) of its regular-season, non-conference games in 2011-12.
  • Removing 2020-21, the Pac-12 actually owns three of the four best regular-season, non-conference winning percentages in womens college basketball since 1999-00.
    • Big 12 - 2011-12 - .861 (99-16)
    • Pac-12 - 2022-23 - .852 (115-20)
    • Pac-12 - 2016-17 - .848 (117-21)
    • Pac-12 - 2019-20 - .839 (115-22)

  • The Pac-12 is the countrys top-rated league according to Massey Ratings and also boasts the nations No. 1 strength of schedule. Per Massey, the Pac-12 has finished as the No. 1 rated conference every season since 2018-19.

STUNNING SUCCESS OF LATE

  • Since 2015-16, the Pac-12 leads all conferences in Final Four appearances (7), non-conference winning percentage (.801), NCAA Tournament wins (76), NCAA Tournament winning percentage (.685) and WBCA All-Americans (15).
  • Taking it back even further, the Pac-12 also leads all conferences in Final Four appearances since 2012-13 with nine. Those nine appearances have been spread across six different programs - Arizona (2021), California (2013), Oregon (2019), Oregon State (2016), Stanford (2022, 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 nine 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.
  • Stanfords appearance in the national semifinals last season was the 20th for the Conference all-time (since the start of Pac-12 sport sponsorship in 1986-87). Of those 20 Final Four appearances, more than one third have come in just the past six NCAA Tournaments (35 percent; seven total).

THE CONFERENCE OF TRIPLE-DOUBLES

  • Stanfords Cameron Brink put together the Pac- 12s 56th all-time triple-double, and just second with blocks, going for 16 points, 11 rebounds and a Stanford single-game record 10 rejections in a 62-54 home win over Oregon on Jan. 29.
  • Per ESPN Stats & Info, a Pac-12 player has now had a triple-double in 12 consecutive seasons, the longest streak by a conference in DI history.

FRESHMAN DOUBLE-DOUBLES

  • Oregon States Raegan Beers has 14 double-doubles in her first 29 career games and is second among the countrys freshmen in that category (Gracie Merkle, Bellarmine - 18).
  • Beers 14 double-doubles are tied for the second most by a Pac-12 freshman since 1999-2000.
    • 21 - Shawntinice Polk , ARIZ - 2002-03
    • 14 - Kristine Anigwe , CAL - 2015-16
    • 13 - Raegan Beers , OSU - 2022-23
    • 12 - Jillian Alleyne , ORE - 2012-13
    • 11 - Alissa Pili , USC - 2019-20
    • 11 - Ruthy Hebard , ORE - 2016-17
    • 11 - Chiney Ogwumike , STAN - 2010-11
    • 10 - Taylor Jones , OSU - 2019-20
    • 10 - Nicole Powell , STAN - 2000-01

40+

  • One week after Washington States Charlisse Leger-Walker became the 25th player in Pac-12 history to score 40 points in a game at Washington on Dec. 11, Oregon States Talia von Oelhoffen became the 26th when she poured in 41 on 17-of-20 shooting (.850) in a 96-84 victory over Nevada in Maui on Dec. 17.
  • Two of 22 40-point performances in the country this season, the Pac-12 is one of two leagues to have multiple players among the 22 along with the Big East (Aneesah Morrow, DePaul/Maddy Siegrist, Villanova). Its the first time the Pac-12 has had multiple 40-point scorers in single season since 2016-17 ( Kelsey Plum , Washington/ Kristine Anigwe , California).

NO SIGNS OF SLOWING DOWN

  • Pac-12 womens basketball programs signed 29 student-athletes to National Letters of Intent during the early signing period for the Class of 2023, 19 of whom are in the espnW HoopGurlz Top 100 (65.6 percent), including three in the top 10.
  • Five of the nations top 20 classes have been put together by Conference programs, including three of the top 10 - No. 3 Arizona, No. 7 Stanford, No. 10 USC, No. 16 Washington, No. 18 Oregon.
  • On Nov. 15, USC signed the nations top recruit and a local product in JuJu Watkins out of Sierra Canyon High School. The third time in the past five seasons the countrys No. 1 recruit has picked a Pac-12 program ( Lauren Betts , Stanford - 2022; Haley Jones , Stanford - 2019), its the first time in nine recruiting cycles that the No. 1 recruit has signed with two different schools in the same league in back-to-back years (Aja Wilson, South Carolina - 2014; Mercedes Russell, Tennessee - 2013).
  • Rosters for the 2023 McDonalds All American Games were revealed on Tuesday, Jan. 24, and of the 24 women selected to play in the showcase, six have signed National Letters of Intent to join Pac-12 programs next season - Sofia Bell (Oregon), Breya Cunningham (Arizona), Amanda Muse (UCLA), JuJu Watkins (USC) and Jada Williams (Arizona) representing the West, and Courtney Ogden (Stanford) on the East roster - the second-highest total among all conferences (SEC - 7).
  • Its the fifth consecutive year the Pac-12 has boasted at least five signees named to McDonalds All American Game rosters. Last year, the Conference had a national-best 11 of the 24 women selected.

TOP TALENT THRIVES

  • Since 2015-16, the Pac-12 leads all conferences with 15 Womens Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) All-Americans, two more than the SEC (13). Stanfords Cameron Brink and Haley Jones landed on the 10-member team in 2022, giving the conference multiple WBCA All-Americans for the fourth consecutive season and sixth in the past seven.
  • The Conference also boasts a NCAA-high 18 U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) first-, second- and third-team All-Americans since 2015-16, tied with the 14-team SEC and one more than the 14-team Big Ten (17).

IT STARTS AT THE TOP

  • Not only does the Conference boast the winningest coach in the history of womens college basketball in Stanfords Tara VanDerveer (1,184 wins), it also has three of the 35 winningest active Division I coaches by percentage in VanDerveer, Oregon States Scott Rueck and Oregons Kelly Graves , a total tied for the most among Power 5 leagues (ACC).
  • Five of the Conferences head coaches have led a team to the Final Four in Arizonas Adia Barnes , Oregons Kelly Graves , Oregon States Scott Rueck , Stanfords Tara VanDerveer and USCs Lindsay Gottlieb , who took California in 2013.
  • Of the countrys 13 active NCAA head coaches who have led a Division I team to the Final Four, five are from the Pac-12, which is the most among all leagues. The Pac-12 and the SEC (4) are the only conferences with multiple coaches that have taken a program to the Final Four.

FIBA WOMENS BASKETBALL WORLD CUP

  • Eight Pac-12 womens basketball players from five schools represented four national teams at the 2022 FIBA Womens Basketball World Cup in Australia.
  • Oregons Sabrina Ionescu and Washingtons Kelsey Plum suited up for the gold-medal winning United States. Four of the 12 on the Canadian roster were from the Pac-12 in a pair of current Ducks, fifth-year Taya Hanson and sophomore Phillipina Kyei , along with UCLAs Nirra Fields , a three-time All-Pac-12 performer (2016, 2015, 2014), and Arizona States Mael Gilles , the Conferences fourth-leading rebounder from a season ago. Seattle Storm head coach and UCLA graduate Noelle Quinn was also an assistant coach for Team Canada.
  • Colorados Mya Hollingshed , the programs sixth all-time leading scorer and a two-time All-Pac-12 selection (2022, 2021), played for Puerto Rico, and UWs Sami Whitcomb , who completed her sixth WNBA season with the New York Liberty, played for the bronze medalist Australians.
  • The Pac-12s eight womens basketball alumnae at the event in Sydney tied with the ACC for the most among all conferences and were two more than the Big Ten (6), three ahead of the Big 12 and Big East (5) and double the SEC (4).

PAC-12 IN THE PROS

  • Washingtons Kelsey Plum (first team), Oregons Sabrina Ionescu (second team) and Stanfords Nneka Ogwumike (second team) were t hree of 10 players voted to the 2022 All-WNBA Team .
  • The Pac-12s three All-WNBA Team members tied with the SEC for most among all conferences and the two leagues were the only ones with multiple selections.
  • It was the first time the Pac-12 has had a trio voted to the All-WNBA Team since 2001, when USCs Lisa Leslie and UCLAs Natalie Williams were on the first team and the Trojans Tina Thompson on the second team. The Conference had at least three All-WNBA picks in the first five years of the league (1997-2001) and had four selections in both 1999 and 2000 (Leslie, Thompson, Williams and USCs Cynthia Cooper ).
  • Plum, Ionescu and Ogwumike were also voted starters for the 2022 AT&T WNBA All-Star Game in July, the first time since 2003 the Pac-12 had a trio voted to start in the WNBAs midseason showcase.
  • The Pac-12 had three players selected in the 2022 WNBA Draft, including three of the first eight picks in Nyara Sabally (No. 5 - New York Liberty), Lexie Hull (No. 6 - Indiana Fever) and Mya Hollingshed (No. 8 - Las Vegas Aces). It was the fourth time the Pac-12 had three first-round selections (1997 College Draft, 2000 College Draft, 2020) and the second time it has boasted three of the drafts first eight selections (2020). The conference has had multiple first rounders in six consecutive drafts, an active streak that leads all leagues by three years. The SEC has had multiple first rounders in three consecutive drafts.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS ( Expanded Standings )

Teams Pac-12 Record Overall Record
#6 Stanford 15-3 27-4
#3 Utah 15-3 25-3
#20 Colorado 13-5 22-7
#21 Arizona 11-7 21-8
#19 UCLA 11-7 22-8
USC 11-7 21-8
Washington State 9-9 19-10
Washington 7-11 15-13
Oregon 7-11 16-13
California 4-14 13-16
Oregon State 4-14 12-17
Arizona State 1-17 8-19
*Colorado and Utah forfeit wins over Arizona State reflected in Conference standings per Pac-12 policy, not overall records per NCAA policy.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE ( Full Schedule )

Wednesday, March 1
#5 UCLA vs. #12 Arizona State Pac-12 Networks noon PT
#8 Washington vs. #9 Oregon Pac-12 Networks 2:30 p.m. PT
#7 Washington State vs. #10 California Pac-12 Networks 6 p.m. PT
#6 USC vs. #11 Oregon State Pac-12 Networks 8:30 p.m. PT
Thursday, March 2
#4 Arizona vs. #5 UCLA/#12 Arizona State Pac-12 Networks noon PT
#1 Stanford vs. #8 Washington/#9 Oregon Pac-12 Networks 2:30 p.m. PT
#2 Utah vs. #7 Washington State/#10 California Pac-12 Networks 6 p.m. PT
#3 Colorado vs. #6 USC/#11 Oregon State Pac-12 Networks
Friday, March 3
Semifinal Game 1 Pac-12 Networks 6 p.m. PT
Semifinal Game 2 Pac-12 Networks 8:30 p.m. PT
Sunday, March 5
Championship Game ESPN2 2 p.m. PT

PAC-12 PERFORMANCE AWARDS PRESENTED BY NEXTIVA ( Weekly Awards History )

Player of the Week Freshman of the Week
Nov. 14 Charlisse Leger-Walker, WSU Grace VanSlooten, ORE
Nov. 21 Charisma Osborne, UCLA Raegan Beers, OSU
Nov. 28 Alissa Pili, UTAH Kailyn Gilbert, ARIZ
Dec. 5 Charisma Osborne, UCLA Kiki Rice, UCLA
Dec. 12 Endyia Rogers, ORE Christeen Iwuala, UCLA
Dec. 19 Cameron Brink, STAN Grace VanSlooten, ORE
Dec. 26 Grace VanSlooten, ORE Grace VanSlooten, ORE
Jan. 2 Rayah Marshall, USC Raegan Beers, OSU
Jan. 9 Cameron Brink, STAN Raegan Beers, OSU
Jan. 16 Destiny Littleton, USC Chance Gray, ORE
Jan. 23 Haley Jones, STAN Timea Gardiner, OSU
Jan. 30 Cameron Brink, STAN Grace VanSlooten, ORE
Feb. 6 Alissa Pili, UTAH Elle Ladine, WASH
Feb. 13 Jaylyn Sherrod, COLO Lauren Betts, STAN
Feb. 20 Shaina Pellington, ARIZ Londynn Jones, UCLA
Feb. 27 Te-Hina Paopao, ORE Raegan Beers, OSU

NATIONAL WEEKLY HONORS

Award - Recipient
Nov. 16 NCAA.com Starting Five - Charlisse Leger-Walker, WSU
Nov. 21 ESPN National Win of the Week - UCLA 80, #11 Tennessee 67 (11/20)
Nov. 23 NCAA.com Starting Five - Charisma Osborne, UCLA
Nov. 30 NCAA.com Starting Five - Alissa Pili, UTAH
Dec. 14 NCAA.com Starting Five - Endyia Rogers, ORE
Dec. 19 ESPN National Team of the Week - UCLA
Dec. 28 USBWA National Freshman of the Week - Grace VanSlooten, ORE
Jan. 4 NCAA.com Starting Five - Rayah Marshall, USC
Jan. 16 ESPN National Win of the Week - USC 55, #2 Stanford 46 (1/15)
Jan. 16 ESPN National Coach of the Week - Lindsay Gottlieb, USC
Jan. 17 USBWA National Team of the Week - USC
Jan. 18 NCAA.com Starting Five - Destiny Littleton, USC
Jan. 23 ESPN National Player of the Week - Haley Jones, STAN
Jan. 24 Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week - Haley Jones, STAN
Jan. 25 NCAA.com Starting Five - Haley Jones, STAN
Jan. 30 ESPN National Coach of the Week - Kamie Ethridge, WSU
Jan. 31 USBWA National Player of the Week - Cameron Brink, STAN
Jan. 31 NCAA.com National Team of the Week - Washington State
Feb. 1 NCAA.com Starting Five - Cameron Brink, STAN
Feb. 6 ESPN National Win of the Week - Washington 72, #2 Stanford 67 (2/5)
Feb. 7 USBWA National Freshman of the Week - Elle Ladine, WASH
Feb. 8 NCAA.com Starting Five - Alissa Pili, UTAH
Feb. 15 NCAA.com Starting Five - Jaylyn Sherrod, COLO
Feb. 20 ESPN National Player of the Week - Shaina Pellington, ARIZ
Feb. 21 USBWA National Player of the Week - Shaina Pellington, ARIZ
Feb. 22 NCAA.com Starting Five - Shaina Pellington, ARIZ
Feb. 27 ESPN National Coach of the Week - Lynne Roberts, UTAH
Feb. 28 NCAA.com National Team of the Week - Utah
Mar. 1 NCAA.com Starting Five - Te-Hina Paopao, ORE