Five Pac-12 Women's Basketball teams ranked in Preseason AP Poll

SAN FRANCISCO - For the second-straight year, five Pac-12 teams appear in the Associated Press Preseason women’s basketball poll with two teams ranking in the top 10. Paving the way for Pac-12 teams are UCLA at No. 8 and STANFORD at No. 10.

The last time two Pac-12 teams were ranked in the top 10 of the AP preseason poll was in 1992-93 when the Cardinal was the No. 1 team in the country and USC was ranked No. 9.

The defending Pac-12 Tournament Champion, Stanford finds itself in the poll for the 18th-consecutive year. Picked to finish first in the Pac-12 this season, the Bruins are in the preseason top 10 for the second-straight year.

Ranked No. 11 in the poll, OREGON is in the preseason poll for the first time since 2000-01. No. 19 OREGON STATE is the defending Pac-12 regular-season champion and is in the poll for the fourth-straight year. After making it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year and returning four starters, CALIFORNIA is No. 20 in the poll.

All five teams in the poll earned NCAA Tournament bids last season, the Cardinal advancing to its 13th all-time NCAA Women’s Final Four.

The Pac-12 is coming off back-to-back historic seasons, advancing two teams to the NCAA Women’s Final Four for the first time ever in 2016 and following up with a with a league-record seven NCAA Tournament teams last season. Pac-12 teams have gone a combined 12-0 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament the last two years, advancing at least one team to the national semifinal in nine of the last 10 years.

The 2017-18 regular season is nearing tip off, with the official start of the season slated for on Friday, Nov. 10. The Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament takes place March 1-4, 2018 in Seattle at KeyArena.