Think of the women’s Pacific-10 Conference Tournament as a potential four-day do-over.
It’s a chance for teams that struggled through the season to suddenly catch fire and earn an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
With the conference’s supposed dominant team, Stanford, struggling at the end of the regular season, it appears every team has a shot at winning the tournament title.
Games begin tonight, starting with No. 7 Oregon State taking on No. 10 Washington State, which is followed by No. 8 Oregon against No. 9 California. Play will last through the weekend, concluding with Monday’s championship game.

1. Stanford

(21-6 overall, 14-4 Pac-10)
The Cardinal enters as the tournament favorite after grabbing a share of its fourth consecutive conference title.
Stanford is led by Pac-10 Player of the Year Nicole Powell, who averaged a double-double during the regular season.
Powell, who is one of the nation’s top players, is often relied upon to supply the majority of the Cardinal’s offensive output. This was a problem for Stanford late in the season as opponents focused on shutting down Powell and her teammates couldn’t deliver.
Stanford will face the winner of Oregon and California on Saturday.

2. Arizona (22-7, 14-4)
The Wildcats closed out the regular season with four consecutive wins, earning a share of the program’s first ever Pac-10 title.
Arizona is led by a pair of all-conference honorees in sophomore center Shawntinice Polk and junior guard Dee-Dee Wheeler. The duo’s amazing blend of size and speed is often too much for opponents to handle and makes the Wildcats one of the most dangerous teams in the tournament.
The Wildcats will face the winner of Oregon State and Washington State on Saturday.

3. Southern California

(15-12, 11-7)
The Women of Troy are led by three-time All-Pac-10 forward Ebony
Hoffman, who averaged 15 points and 8.2 rebounds per game during the regular season. USC will face Washington on Saturday.

4. UCLA (16-11, 11-7)
The Bruins feature one of the Pac-10’s top backcourts with Nikki Blue and Freshman of the Year Noelle Quinn. UCLA will face Arizona State in one of Saturday’s best match-ups.

5. Arizona State (17-10, 11-7)
The Sun Devils look to the trio of Kylan Loney, Kristen Kovesdy and Betsy Boardman for most of the team’s offensive production.

6. Washington (16-11, 9-9)
The key to the Huskies’ success lies squarely on the shoulders of Giuliana Mendiola. The Pac-10’s leading scorer will have to dominate if Washington is to have a chance. All-Conference center Andrea Lalum adds scoring punch.

7. Oregon State (14-13, 8-10)
The Beavers will need a huge tournament from junior-transfer Shannon Howell to be successful. Howell was the only Pac-10 player to record a 40-point game this season.

8. Oregon (14-14, 6-12)
The Ducks enter the tournament with momentum on their side after defeating then-No. 10 Stanford and California last week.

9. California (11-16, 4-14)
The Golden Bears won two of their last three games and will be led by Pac-10 Coach of the Year Caren Horstmeyer. Guard Nihan Anaz is the team’s top offensive threat.

10. Washington State

(6-21, 2-16)
The Cougars will rely on forward Bianca McCall to keep them close. Washington State has won 10 conference games in the past five years.