1. Stanford Cardinal: Coming off an Elite Eight showing, the Cardinal should be even better this season, despite Nicole Powell’s graduation. Stanford has four of its five top scorers back, including guard Kelley Suminski. This will be a more balanced team than it was with Powell, but no less dangerous. Returning starters: 3. Best returning player: Suminski. Strengths: Great coaching, tradition, seasoned vets in Suminski, Susan Borchardt and T’Nae Thiel. Weaknesses: Playing without Powell may be an adjustment, but only temporary. Not as athletic as some teams in the Pac-10.
2. Arizona Wildcats: Poised to knock off the Cardinal, the Wildcats have the best inside-outside combo in the league in center Shawntinice Polk and guard Dee-Dee Wheeler. Add returning Freshman of the Year Shannon Hobson and there’s ample evidence that Arizona can return to the NCAAs and do some damage. Returning starters: 4. Best returning player: Polk. Strengths: Best post in the league, quick, good-shooting backcourt. Six letter winners with NCAA experience. Deadly at home, with 33 straight victories. Weaknesses: Can be inconsistent. Not a great free-throw-shooting team.
3. UCLA Bruins: Great backcourt in Noelle Quinn, Lisa Willis and Nikki Blue, who averaged 45.4 points, 18.7 rebounds and 10.2 assists and 8.4 steals a game last season. It’s an experienced team, with seven players who saw action in at least 18 games. Returning starters: 4. Best returning player: Quinn. Strengths: Firepower in the backcourt. A team of great athletic talent that can beat anyone down the floor. Weaknesses: Uncertainty up front, although McDonald’s All-America Lindsey Pluimer may make an impact as a freshman.
4. Arizona State Sun Devils: A threat to return to the NCAA Tournament, with a solid guard duo of Kylan Loney and Betsey Boardman. Forward Emily Westerberg has had a great preseason. This is a team rich in experience that loves to disrupt offenses. Returning starters: 5. Best returning player: Loney. Strengths: Harassing defense and offensive balance. Loney is the feistiest player in the league. Depth is such that Charli Turner Thorne can throw fresh bodies in at any time. Weaknesses: Not outstanding in any one area. Guard Jill Noe, who has had two ACL tears, will be gone for much of the season.
5. Oregon Ducks: The biggest question is post Cathrine Kraayeveld’s health. Lights-out when she’s sound, Kraayeveld has had chronic knee problems. Also, guard Kedzie Gunderson will be lost for the season with an off-season knee injury. All is not lost, however. Center Andrea Bills is a force underneath and guard Corrie Mizusawa led the conference in assists last season. Returning starters: 3. Best returning player: Kraayeveld. Strengths: When healthy, Kraayeveld is the second-best post player in the league, next to Polk. There’s a lot of experienced talent here. Guards Brandi Davis and Chelsea Wagner are good outside shooters. This is a very good passing team. Weaknesses: How reliable are Kraayeveld’s knees? Rebounding can be an issue.
6. USC Women of Troy: First-year coach Mark Trakh replaces the fired Chris Gobrecht and has an almost entirely new roster. Perhaps Trakh can get some consistency in a flighty unit that never fulfilled its great promise. It’s a young team with much to learn, but with its share of athletic talent. Returning starters: 1. Best returning player: Meghan Gnekow. Strengths: Quickness, speed. Weaknesses: Everything associated with youth and a new system. It will take some time for this crew to jell.
7. Oregon State Beavers: It’s a team that heavily relies on guard Shannon Howell for scoring, which is both good and bad. Howell is more than up to the task (she averages 23 points a game in preseason), but as Washington’s Giuliana Mendiola demonstrated last season, one player can’t win games consistently. That’s the problem facing the Beavers. Can someone else come through when Stanford holds Howell to 12? Returning starters: 1. Best returning player: Howell. Strengths: Howell and speed in the backcourt. A healthy Casey Bunn can score and rebound. Weaknesses: Thin at the interior. Howell is the only proven scorer. This isn’t a particularly good passing team, especially if it just settles for watching Howell go one-on-one. Turnovers have been a problem in preseason.
8. Washington Huskies: A team without a senior, the Huskies rely on a fullcourt, trapping defense designed to produce points. Arlington’s Kayla Burt returns from a serious heart malady. She will be Washington’s leading offensive player. Kristen O’Neill returns from a stress fracture that still bothers her. As Washington’s best defensive player, O’Neill will be counted on for leadership and stability. Returning starters: 2. Best returning player: O’Neill. Strengths: A hustling, pressure defense. Depth at nearly every position, especially the backcourt. Weaknesses: Shooting. The Huskies were about 35 percent from the floor in preseason. Inconsistent play inside. Youth, which may help explain long lapses of team-wide inconsistency.
9. California Golden Bears: The Bears have five incoming freshmen and a transfer to add to the roster. They will join five seniors, led by Leigh Gregory, who averaged 11 points and five rebounds last season. Senior guard Kristin Iwanaga is shooting 76 percent from behind the 3-point line, best in the country. Cal leads the nation in that category at 51 percent. Returning starters: 2. Best returning player: Iwanaga. Strengths: Pressure defense that produces points. Outside shooting. Improved overall offense. Very good at free throws. Weaknesses: It’s not a good rebounding team. And any team that relies on the 3-pointer that heavily is one to be nervous about.
10. Washington State Cougars: Third-year coach Sherri Murrell is gradually building a solid team that figures to improve as the year rolls on. Sophomore forward Kate Benz averages 11 points and 8.5 rebounds a game, second in the league to Polk. Swede Emma Joneby adds 6.5 rebounds a game. Sophomore guard Adriane Ferguson scores better than 13 points a game. Returning starters: 3. Best returning player: Benz. Strengths: Improved defense and rebounding, otherwise, it’s a team that does little outstanding. Weaknesses: Too many mistakes, especially turnovers that robs the offense. It’s not a great shooting team. It’s a young team on the rise.
John Sleeper, Herald writer
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