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Women's title race taking shape

As the Pacific 10 Conference schedule wanes into the final week of the season, the championship race is beginning to take shape.

Oregon has the best shot at capturing the conference crown, only having to defeat Oregon State at home Friday to do so. Whether they share that distinction with another team depends on how Arizona and Stanford fare this weekend.

The Cardinal can capture at least a share of the Pac-10 crown with a sweep this weekend of Arizona and Arizona State and UA can win a share of the title with a sweep of Stanford and California and an OSU win against Oregon.

In the event of a tie between two or more teams, co-champions will be crowned and a tie-breaking process will be instituted to determine the team receiving an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. In the event of a three-way tie between Oregon, Arizona and Stanford, all three teams would be all but guaranteed a bid to the tournament.

With those three teams and perhaps UCLA also getting a bid to the NCAA Tournament, there is a distinct possibility that no team from the Pac-10 will host first round games.

The top 16 teams chosen for the tournament host first and second round games on March 17-20, but Pac-10 coaches are concerned that the selection committee will not include any Pac-10 team.

"It is a great concern to me if all the Pac-10 teams start the tournament on the road," Oregon head coach Jody Runge said. "This year there has been the most parity in the conference and we don't always get credit for that."

Runge said she believes Pac-10 teams shouldn't be punished for playing in a competitive conference where each game poses a difficult challenge.

Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer said if a team wins the Pac-10 title outright, they're deserving of hosting first round games.

"There are too many good teams that sometimes beat up on each other," she said. "I think that just points towards the strength of the conference."

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Oregon sophomore guard Shaquala Williams was named the Pac-10 Player of the Week as she helped the Ducks beat No. 20 Arizona and ASU, moving the Ducks into sole possession of first place.

During the weekend, Williams averaged 21.5 points, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 2.0 steals, and shot 52 percent from the floor (15-of-29) and 100 percent from the free throw line (11-of-11).

Williams' second half efforts against the Wildcats and Sun Devils secured the award for her. She scored 37 of her 43 points in the second halves in those two games.

Oregon's two wins last weekend was enough for them to gain national exposure as they are ranked No. 24 in this week's AP Top 25 poll. They moved back into the poll for the first time since Jan. 11.