Best of the West WBB power rankings: L.A. schools on top as Utah, Portland tick up

The Best of the West offers fans a candid assessment of the top teams in the western third of the country — a collection that includes the Mountain West and the former Pac-12 schools now scattered across the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten and West Coast Conference.

The rankings will be published on the Hotline weekly throughout the regular season.

1. UCLA (11-0)

Last week: 1
Results: beat Long Beach State 102-51 and Cal Poly 69-37
Up next: vs. Creighton (Friday)
Comment: Cori Close is up to 298 victories at UCLA, most in school history (surpassing Billie Moore’s 296). Close is in her 14th season and has won 68 percent of her games. Lauren Betts and Janiah Barker had double-doubles against Long Beach State, then Betts sat out Monday due to a leg injury while Barker had another double-double. The Bruins remain No. 1 in the AP poll, receiving 30 of 32 first-place votes.

2. USC (10-1)

Last week: 2
Results: beat Elon 88-30
Up next: at Connecticut (Saturday)
Comment: The Trojans set a school record by holding Elon to 30 points (and just 12 in the first half). JuJu Watkins scored 26 in USC’s final tune-up before tackling No. 4 Connecticut on Saturday. Both teams have losses to No. 3 Notre Dame.

3. Cal (11-1)

Last week: 3
Results: beat Stanford 83-63 and Austin Peay 71-45
Up next: vs. Fordham (Saturday)
Comment: Cal entered the AP poll (No. 24) for the first time since January 2019 after its dominant win over Stanford, which ended a 12-game losing streak in the Bay Area rivalry. The Bears already have five wins over 2023 NCAA Tournament qualifiers, with their only loss coming by six points to No. 15 Michigan State.

4. Utah (9-2)

Last week: 5
Results: beat Washington 67-57
Up next: vs. Arizona State (Saturday)
Comment: Trailing by 10 points entering the fourth quarter against Washington, the Utes went on a 15-2 run led by Gianna Kneepkens, who scored 14 of her 24 points in the fourth. Utah and Cal are dueling for the No. 3 spot in the West behind the L.A. schools.

5. Stanford (8-3)

Last week: 4
Results: lost to Cal 83-63, beat UTSA 62-57
Up next: vs. Ohio State (Friday)
Comment: The Cardinal broke a two-game losing streak Monday but still is feeling the sting of the early-December game they arguably should have won at fifth-ranked LSU and their largest margin of defeat to Cal since February 1982. Stanford’s 15-point lead with 5:49 left against UTSA dipped to two before the Cardinal could secure the victory.

6. UNLV (7-3)

Last week: 6
Results: beat DePaul 80-61
Up next: at Northwestern (Wednesday)
Comment: Aaliyah Alexander is the Mountain West Player of the Week for her season-high 25 points against DePaul. (The 5-foot-8 guard is a transfer from Eastern Washington.) The Rebels can complete a sweep in Chicago against Northwestern, then host UC Riverside on Saturday.

7. Colorado (9-2)

Last week: 7
Results: Did not play
Up next: vs. West Virginia (Saturday)
Comment: The Buffaloes return from a 10-day break Saturday to begin Big 12 play at home against No. 14-ranked West Virginia. Colorado’s low strength-of-schedule (No. 296) creates unanswered questions headed into its first Big 12 season. Frida Formann leads CU in scoring (14.1 ppg), with two others averaging double figures.

8. Northern Arizona (9-2)

Last week: 8
Results: beat San Francisco 92-83
Up next: at Fresno State (Thursday)
Comment: Loree Payne became the winningest coach in NAU history with victory No. 118 at home against USF. (Payne is in her eighth season.) The Lumberjacks are off to their best start ever and averaging 84.2 points per game. Sophie Glancey and Nyah Moran are over 1,000 career points.

9. Portland (11-0)

Last week: 10
Results: beat Portland State 71-46
Up next: at Loyola Marymount (Thursday)
Comment: The Pilots remain undefeated against a soft non-conference schedule (No. 327), aside from their standout win over Princeton on Dec. 6. Maisie Burnham is the West Coast Conference Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. Portland is one of nine undefeated teams in Division I, with the best start in school history.

10. Grand Canyon (8-2)

Last week: 9
Results: best Westcliff 90-31
Up next: vs. Wright State (Wednesday)
Comment: The Antelopes carry a six-game winning streak into their home tournament this week, taking on Florida Atlantic and Georgia Southern after Wright State. Alyssa Durazo-Frescas made seven 3-pointers, one off the school record, against NAIA Westcliff.

11. Oregon (8-3)

Last week: 12
Results: beat Air Force 98-36
Up next: vs. UC Irvine (Thursday)
Comment: After a nine-day break, the Ducks dominated Air Force on Tuesday even though the Falcons came to Eugene with a 9-1 record. Oregon led 22-9 after the first quarter, 44-18 at halftime and continued to pour it on with 11 players scoring. ESPN continues to project the Ducks as one of the final four qualifiers for the NCAA Tournament.

12. Brigham Young (9-2)

Last week: 13
Results: beat Washington State 72-57
Up next: vs. Arizona (Saturday)
Comment: The Cougars’ third consecutive victory carries some weight since it was in Pullman. Freshman Delaney Gibb scored 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting, earning her second Big 12 Freshman of the Week award.

13. San Diego State (10-1)

Last week: 11
Results: beat Cal State Fullerton 61-58
Up next: vs. Stephen F. Austin (Friday)
Comment: The Aztecs were fortunate to escape with a victory at winless Cal State Fullerton, reflecting their low strength-of-schedule (No. 285). Naomi Panganiban scored 17 points, earning Mountain West Freshman of the Week. SDSU’s next four opponents currently have winning records.

14. Arizona (9-4)

Last week: 15
Results: beat Weber State 87-66
Up next: at Brigham Young (Saturday)
Comment: The Wildcats took care of business against two teams – Cal State Bakersfield and Weber State – with a combined three wins. That creates some momentum going into the start of Big 12 play. South Carolina transfer Sahnya Jah had a 22-point, 10-rebound double-double against Weber State.

15. Montana State (8-2)

Last week: Not ranked
Results: beat Florida Gulf Coast 58-49
Up next: vs. Presbyterian (Thursday)
Comment: Montana State breaks into the Hotline rankings after winning Monday to end Florida Gulf Coast’s 37-game home winning streak. Marah Dykstra scored 26 points for the Bobcats, who remain on the road for two games in Puerto Rico.

Also considered: Washington, UC Irvine and Colorado State.

*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to wilnerhotline@bayareanewsgroup.com or call 408-920-5716

*** Follow me on the social media platform X: @WilnerHotline