Coming off the program’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 1999, the UCLA women’s basketball team was picked to win the conference this season by Pac-12 coaches in the preseason poll released Thursday at Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Media Day.
It’s the first time since 2000 that the Bruins were picked to win the conference. UCLA, led by sixth-year head coach Cori Close, claimed eight first-place votes. Stanford and Washington finished second and third, respectively.
UCLA has three returning starters: juniors Monique Billings and Jordan Canada and senior Kari Korver. Canada was named an AP honorable mention All-American last season after the guard averaged 16.1 points and 5.7 assists per game.