Pac-10 coaches pick ASU women's basketball third in the conference

For the second time in as many years the Arizona State women’s basketball team was picked to finish third in the annual Pac-10 coaches preseason poll.

Nine-time defending Pac-10 champion and 2009 NCAA Final Four participant Stanford was picked to once again win the conference. The Cardinal received nine of the possible 10 first-place votes and 81 points while the Sun Devils (64 points) received the other first-place vote. Picked to finish in back of Stanford and ahead of ASU was California (67 points). Both ASU and Cal finished tied for second in last season’s final regular season standings. UCLA was fourth in the poll with 63 points.

With 48 points, USC rounded out the top five in the poll, followed by Washington State with 33 points, Oregon State with 29 points and Oregon with 23 points. Arizona placed ninth in the voting, garnering 22 points, while Washington was 10th with 20 points.

The Sun Devils host Vanguard in an exhibition contest on Thurs., Nov. 5 at 6 p.m. and open the regular season on Sun., Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. when they host 2009 NCAA participant South Dakota State
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2009-10 PAC-10 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL COACHES’ POLL

Team (First Place)-Points
1.    Stanford (9)-81
2.    California-67
3.    Arizona State (1)-64
4.    UCLA-63
5.    USC-48
6.    Washington State-33
7.    Oregon State-29
8.    Oregon-23
9.    Arizona-22
10.   Washington-20