Oregon State is the clear No. 1 heading into the Pac-12 tournament. They Beavers have only lost twice since conference play began and their defense is the strongest in the conference. On offense, they spread the ball well and have threats all over the court.
Regular season MVP: junior center Ruth Hamblin
Hamblin’s 6-foot-6 stature and long arms allowed her to swat 3.8 shots per game, good for eighth in the nation.
ASU stumbled near the end of the year, but the final half against Colorado was huge for them. Role players are gaining confidence and this team has the most stamina and energy in the conference.
Regular season MVP: senior guard Promise Amukamara
Amukamara was the heart of the stingy ASU defense, consistently guarding the best perimeter player, and a leader on the offensive end.
Stanford and Cal are almost interchangeable — the two traded games in mid-February — but the Cardinal’s upset of OSU pushes them ahead. Stanford hasn’t been as successful this year as in the past, but it is as scary as any other team going into the Pac-12 tournament.
Regular season MVP: senior guard Amber Orrange
With a nod to sophomore guard Lili Thompson, Orrange was the most consistent offensive figure on the team. She was just behind Thompson in points, had more assists, and shot over 40 percent from field goal range.
Cal is scary. Cal is returning to its level of strength that was expected in the preseason. Cal has a chance to win it all, particularly with the return of sophomore forward Courtney Range and the melding of team chemistry.
Regular season MVP: senior forward Reshanda Gray
It was tempting to choose Range, who completely transformed the team when she returned from injury, but it was Boyd who led Cal throughout the year. She averaged 18.1 points per game, fourth-best in the Pac-12, and shot a ridiculous 56.7 percent from the field.
Washington has slowed down immensely after a hot start (seven of its eight losses came in conference play), but the Huskies are still the highest scoring team in the conference.
Regular season MVP: sophomore guard Kelsey Plum
Plum is the reason Washington leads the Pac-12 in points per game. She personally leads all players with 23 per game, which is fifth-best in the nation, and shoots 40 percent from three.
WSU could be an upset threat in the Pac-12 tournament. Its guard tandem has continued prevailing over the competition, combining to average 36.5 points per game. The only qualm is that neither shoot 40 percent from the field and both hover around 30 percent from the 3-point line.
Regular season MVP: junior guard Lia Galdeira
Galdeira was the better of the two guards this year, averaging 19.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.
USC defeated Cal. The Bruins took ASU to double-overtime. They came close to defeating WSU. As a result, USC gets to play Colorado in the first round of the tournament before they’ll fall to OSU in the quarterfinals.
Regular season MVP: senior forward Alexyz Vaioletama
She gets bonus points for having “XYZ” in alphabetical order in her name, but Vaioletama has played like a team MVP too. She has good hands on defense, the second-most rebounds and the most points per game on the team.
Oregon ended the season on a strong note, defeating Stanford at home. However, the Ducks had lost four of the five before to this upset.
Regular season MVP: junior forward Jillian Alleyne
After fighting to be the NCAA rebounding champion, Alleyne lost by 0.4 rebounds per game. Congratulations to her anyway for finishing with 18.4 points and 15.1 rebounds per contest.
UCLA beat WSU before falling to Washington to end the season. As a result, the Bruins get to play Arizona to open up the tournament.
Regular season MVP: junior guard Nirra Fields
Fields was the heat of the team, finishing with 14.6 points per game. The second highest on UCLA was freshman guard Jordin Canada, who finished with 10.8.
The positives of the season: The two frontcourt players were two of the best in the league. Senior guard L exy Kresl rained wild shots from three. The negative: the Buffaloes weren’t a very good team overall and finished with the ninth seed.
Regular season MVP: junior forward Jamee Swan
Swan’s defensive efforts pushed her ahead of senior forward Jen Reese. Swan averaged 1.9 blocks and two assists to go along with 13.2 points and 7.9 rebounds per game.
On to the next season for Arizona, but its victory over Utah in the final game jolts them out of last place.
Regular season MVP: redshirt senior guard Candice Warthen
Warthen was the sole player to average double-digit points for the Wildcats and the only player to average more than 26 points per game (Warthen was at 33.4).
Utah’s slow pace allowed for one of the stingiest defenses in the league, giving up third-best 59.1 points per game. However, the Utes averaged a league-low 54.6 points per game.
Regular season MVP: redshirt senior forward Taryn Wicijowski
Wicijowski was the only player to average more than nine points per game for Utah, putting in 14.6 to go along with a team-high nine rebounds per game.
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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