About three weeks into Pac-12 play, there's a clearer view of which women's basketball teams can seriously compete come March and which will be left behind.
The contenders
1. ASU (same)
ASU barely sneaks ahead of Oregon State this week. The Sun Devils' offensive struggles showed just how poorly they play when their defense isn’t causing turnovers. However, ASU is still the team to beat in the Pac-12, and the final five minutes of play were very strong.
2. Oregon State (up one)
The positive: junior guard Ruth Hamblin won Pac-12 Player of the Week honors and put up a double-double against Washington. She’s shooting 63 percent, brings down 9.6 boards and is averaging 3.53 blocks per game this season.
The negative: OSU defeated Washington State by just three and almost lost to Washington three nights later. OSU's relatively easy schedule isn’t quite enough to boost it over ASU.
3. Stanford (down one)
The second half of Monday’s game showed just how dominant Stanford can be. The Cardinal had 12 takeaways and only four turnovers, very low for an ASU opponent. Their low 3-point percentage was more due to misses than strong ASU defense: There were at least two shots that should have fallen. If those go in, Stanford wins and is No. 1 on this list.
On the verge
4. Washington (same)
Washington actually led OSU late in the second half before falling 75-67. It was an impressive all-around game and the team hung in despite sophomore guard Kelsey Plum only scoring 10.
5. Cal (up one)
Cal seems like the team of this group most likely to jump up a few spots. Senior forward Reshanda Gray was mighty impressive against ASU on Friday, going 7-for-7 with 17 points before fouling out. Sophomore forward Courtney Range just returned from injury. If she can seamlessly re-insert herself into the lineup, Cal could be as good as projected at the beginning of the season.
6. Washington State (down one)
What could have been. WSU led OSU by 16 before a mad OSU rally led by Hamblin’s 31 points gave OSU the game. A player to keep an eye out for: senior center Shalie Dheensaw, who now has a pair of double-doubles this season.
Not a threat
7. UCLA (up one)
UCLA beat USC twice, but lost to Oregon by 16. Its 4-2 Pac-12 record, though impressive, came on wins against USC, Utah and Colorado. A positive sign: Three of UCLA’s players average more than 11 points per game.
8. USC (down one)
USC has a similar schedule to UCLA: The Trojans both beat Colorado and Utah, and USC beat Oregon. It seems like USC hasn’t gotten any consistency, though, and can’t find a go-to player: eight players average at least 17 minutes a game, and none average 30.
9. Oregon (same)
Oregon has lost five of its six Pac-12 games, including scoring only 37 against OSU. Outside of junior forward Jillian Alleyne, no player averages more than four rebounds a game (Alleyne’s at 15.1).
The sub-150 RPI club
10. Colorado (same)
Colorado’s two Pac-12 wins were against Utah, the first of which went into overtime. The second time was more convincing: Colorado won by 19.
11. Arizona (same)
In Arizona’s defense, the team has played an extremely tough schedule. All of its games have come against a team in the top two groupings. However, the Wildcats haven’t topped 60 points in more than two weeks.
12. Utah (same)
Utah’s turnover margin is -2.9. That’ll haunt the Utes when they’re forced to play defensive hounds such as OSU and ASU.
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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