Oct. 11, 2000

With four returning starters from last year's NCAA Tournament team, STANFORD has been tabbed by the Pac-10 women's basketball coaches as the team to beat in the 2000-01 season. The Cardinal tied with ARIZONA for second place in the Conference with a 13-5 league record last season, while OREGON captured its second straight Pac-10 title.

Stanford, which finished 21-9 overall and advanced to the second round of the NCAA West Regional last season, garnered nine first-place votes in the preseason poll, while Oregon earned one first-place vote. The Cardinal made its 13th straight NCAA Tournament appearance last season.

This is the first time that Stanford has been tabbed by the coaches as the Conference preseason favorite since the poll's inception in 1998-99. The Cardinal was last picked to win the Pac-10 race by the media in 1997-98.

2000-01 PAC-10 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL COACHES POLL(first place votes in parentheses)

Team Points

1. Stanford (9) - 90

2. Oregon (1) - 78

3. USC - 70

4. Arizona - 66

5. Arizona State - 57

6t. UCLA - 49

Washington - 49

8. Oregon State - 34

9. California - 29

10. Washington State - 18