The Wild, Wild West: Ranking the Top 10 Women’s College Basketball Teams on The West Coast

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1. Stanford (3-0). It’s time to find out if a strong start means an elite team for the Cardinal. Tonight’s game against UConn in Hartford doesn’t mean a lot, but it will say a lot about where the Cardinal are in late-November.
2. Arizona State (3-0). A very good start for the Sun Devils, who are 3-0 for the first time since 2006-07. Kimberly Brandon emerging as the team’s offensive leader with 18 points on Sunday against Boston College.
3. Cal (3-0). Back to back 24-point victories for the Bears lead into a trip to Hawaii for the Thanksgiving weekend and games against Hawaii, Texas and Joanne Boyle’s Virginia team, coming off Sunday’s big upset of Tennessee.
4. Gonzaga (2-1). Kelly Graves won his 300th game against Idaho last Thursday and take a weeklong break before playing at home against Portland State on Sunday.
5. USC (1-2). Questioning the wisdom of such a tough schedule to start the season. The Women of Troy lose on the road at Nebraska and Georgia and now on to the Bahamas for two more tough games. Not out of the realm that USC comes home 1-4. How does that help?
6. UCLA (2-1). A 33-point loss to No. 1 Baylor stings, but the Bruins should be able to gather itself in the Northridge tournament this weekend with games against West Virginia and Northridge.
7. UC Davis (4-0). The Aggies are 4-0 for the second straight year and playing well under first-year head coach Jennifer Gross. Next up – games against USF and Santa Clara before a big date with Stanford.
8. Arizona (3-0). Davellyn Whyte and Candice Warthen are combining to average 45 points a game and the preseason schedule continues to look friendly to the ‘Cats with games this week against New Mexico State and North Texas.
9. St. Mary’s (2-2). The Gaels are alternating wins and losses so far, but have a chance to gain some momentum with their annual Thanksgiving tournament this weekend. SMC will face Virginia Tech on Friday to open.
10. Fresno State (2-2). Fresno State pulled out a big one-point win over Cal Poly on Sunday, a good bounce-back after the double-overtime loss to Pepperdine on Friday night. The ‘Dogs are now headed to the SMU Tournament in Texas to open against Tennessee State.