Ellington

1. Stanford: Averaging 85 points per game and outscoring their opponents by nearly 29 points, the undefeated No. 2 Cardinal (6-0) have established themselves as clear-cut favorites to win the conference championship. Stanford will be tested this month, as they face three teams ranked in the top 25, including No. 11 Duke and No. 6 Tennessee.

2. Oregon: A hot offense has led the Ducks to a 5-1 record and their best start since the 2006-07 season. Oregon averages 86.8 points per game, good for fourth in the country.

3. Arizona State: Maybe UW head coach Tia Jackson wishes she still had sophomore Kali Bennett. The redshirt sophomore, who played for the Huskies as a freshman in the 2007-08 season, was named MVP of the Jack in the Box Rainbow Wahine Classic after averaging 15 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the tournament.

4. California: The Golden Bears are still ranked 20th in the nation despite a mediocre 3-2 record. Their two losses against No. 8 Baylor and No. 3 Ohio State will probably end up making them stronger come conference play.

5. Arizona: The Wildcats are off to an impressive start at 4-1. Forward Ify Ibekwe is filling up the stat sheet, averaging 12.6 points, 15 rebounds, three steals and 2.3 blocks through five games.

6. Oregon State: OSU sits at 4-1 and just won the NAU Thanksgiving Classic Championship last week. In their only loss against Houston, the Beavers put up 32 points — something that won’t go over well in Pac-10 play.

7. UCLA: The three-point shot has been UCLA’s best friend through the first six games of the season. The Bruins have made 34 three-pointers already; senior guard Erica Tukiainen has made 20 of those. The women’s team might actually finish higher in the conference than the Bruin men this year.

8. USC: First-year head coach Michael Cooper will try his hand in the collegiate world this season with the Trojans. USC has picked up some impressive wins against Fresno State and Texas but still sits at 2-3 on the year. Only two seniors are on this young roster.

9. Washington: An incredible late game performance by senior Sami Whitcomb and a weak opponent in Eastern Washington account for the Huskies’ two wins. While they haven’t looked like an NCAA-tournament team, it seems like the UW is still poised to improve on its eight-win season last year with the addition of transfer sophomore center Regina Rogers, who is averaging 10 points and 3.8 rebounds a game.

10. Washington State: The Cougars have already lost three times this year, including a 107-54 pummeling by Nebraska. Looks like it might be a repeat of the 2008 football season between the UW and WSU to see who can take the honors of the Pac-10’s worst women’s basketball team.

Reach reporter Taylor Soper at sports@dailyuw.com.