WHAT: No. 18/19 Sun Devil WBB (9-2) vs. No. 13/14 Stanford
WHEN: Friday at 4 p.m. MT
WHERE: Wells Fargo Arena • Tempe, Ariz.
PROMOTION: Friday's game will be ASU's annual Snow Day game. Fans of all ages can enjoy snow in the desert starting at 2:30 p.m. in the Arboretum (NE side of Wells Fargo Arena). Snow day tickets, which include both the opportunity to play in the snow and admission to the game are available for just $5 when using the promo code SNOW at this link. In addition, there will be a Big Head giveaway of head coach Charli Turner Thorne to the first 1,000 fans in attendance.
TV: Pac-12 Network
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 (pregame coverage begins at 3:30 p.m.)
LIVE AUDIO: SDA TuneIn Channel
UP NEXT
Nine days removed from its last game, the No. 18 Arizona State women's basketball team opens Pac-12 play this weekend with contests against No. 13 Stanford (Friday at 4 p.m.) and No. 21 Cal (Sunday at 3 p.m.).
For the first time since 2002 the Sun Devils will begin the conference slate with the label of 'defending champions,' after tying with Oregon State last season for the league's top spot in the regular season standings (16-2). To repeat the feat again this season the Sun Devils (9-2) will have to find a way to successfully navigate their way through what figures to be the most competitive Pac-12 season ever. At the outset of conference play the league has seven teams ranked in the AP Top 25, the most it has ever had in the poll.
Prior to tying for the league title last season the Sun Devils were in the runner-up spot in 2015 after finishing 15-3, one game behind Oregon State (16-2). One of the keys to ASU's success in conference play the last two seasons has been its ability to get out to fast starts. In 2015 the Sun Devils won their first seven Pac-12 games, which at the time was their best league start ever. They would surpass that mark last season after winning their first nine Pac-12 games.
For the second time in as many years the Sun Devils will be opening the conference schedule at home against the Bay Area schools, who bring a combined record of 22-2 – Cal 12-0 and Stanford 10-2 – into this weekend's games.
The Sun Devils' current seven-game winning streak represents the 24th time since 2001 that they have had a winning streak of five or more games. ASU's current string of wins came on the heels of its only two losses of the season: at Marquette (75-63) and vs. current No. 4 Maryland (81-42) in Las Vegas. Since the loss to Maryland the Sun Devils have shot 49 percent from the floor, are +12.1 on the boards and have a +7.6 advantage in assists per game. ASU's advantage on the boards has been especially telling on the offensive glass where they have grabbed nearly twice as many rebounds as the opposition (94-49). The Sun Devils have taken full advantage of the extra opportunities as they have an 85-28 advantage in second-chance points over the last seven games.
Leading the way on the offensive end during ASU's current winning streak have been senior posts Sophie Brunner (13.3 ppg/38-58 FGs - 66 percent) and Quinn Dornstauder (9.9 ppg/30-49 FGs - 61 percent), who have combined to average 23.2 ppg and shoot a collective 63.6 percent (68-107) from the floor. Dornstauder (4-4 FGs, nine points) and Brunner (4-4 FGs, eight points) did not miss a shot and combined for 17 of ASU's 30 points in the fourth quarter of ASU's come-from-behind win over Florida on Dec. 4. Brunner scored 16 of her 18 points in the second half and overtime of ASU's win at Kentucky on Dec. 11. She did not miss a shot (7-7) in the first half of ASU's win over Oral Roberts (Dec. 17) in which she notched her second double-double (18 points, 10 rebounds) of the season. Brunner (6.7) and Kelsey Moos (6.0 rpg) are leading ASU's rebounding effort during the winning streak.
COVERAGE
Both of this weekend's games can be seen live on Pac-12 Network. Anne Marie Anderson and Mary Murphy will call Friday's game vs Stanford while Krista Blunk will join Murphy for Sunday's game vs. Cal. Both games can also be heard live on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and on the Sun Devil Athletics Tune-In Channel. Pre-game coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. on Friday and at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona's 2010 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 13th season as the voice of ASU women's basketball. He will be joined by former Sun Devil head coach Maura McHugh.
SERIES NOTES
The Sun Devils have won four of the last five meetings against Stanford after sweeping the regular season series last season for the second straight season in 2016: 49-31 in Tempe and 63-61 (OT) in Palo Alto. Brunner led the way in both contests as she combined for 26 points and 22 rebounds in the two wins. Her fadeaway jumper at the buzzer provided the game-winning points in the second meeting. ASU's 60-57 win at Stanford in January of 2015 was its first win over the Cardinal since February of 2006 and the first at Stanford since 1984. Prior to that game the Cardinal had prevailed in the previous 16 meetings. On Feb. 6, 2015, ASU became the first league school to sweep Stanford in the regular season since 1988 after defeating the Cardinal 53-52 in Tempe. The two teams would meet again in the 2015 Pac-12 Tournament semifinals (Mar. 7), where the Cardinal came out on top 59-56.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• This year ASU returned three senior starters – posts Sophie Brunner, Quinn Dornstauder and Kelsey Moos – from the 2015-16 team that captured a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, won 26 games (tied for third-highest in program history) and went on to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament (highest placement in program history). In addition, 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year Charli Turner Thorne welcomed a five-member freshman class – Sydney Goodson, Reili Richardson, Jamie Ruden, Kiara Russell and Robbi Ryan – that was ranked among the nation's top 10 signing classes when it was announced last fall, and Sara Hattis, a graduate post who will be eligible to play this season after transferring to ASU from the University of Texas in May.
• As of Dec. 28, ASU ranked among the top third in the Pac-12 in 3-point FG pct. defense (first/21.2 percent), rebounding defense (first/27.7 rpg), scoring defense (second/52.2 ppg) and offensive rebounds (third/15.2 rpg). Brunner currently ranks fifth in the league in offensive rebounds (3.2 rpg), seventh in FG pct. (58.4) and 12th in rebounding (6.2 rpg); Dornstauder is ninth in FG pct. (52.8); Richardson is 10th in FT pct. (75.9) and 12th in assists (4.3 apg); and Moos is 11th in steals (1.8 spg).
• ASU has shot 53 percent from the floor in its last three games. Another shooting percentage note from current winning streak: ASU was 13-14 from the floor in the fourth quarter of its come-from-behind win over then- No. 19 Florida (Dec. 4), a game it trailed by 12 entering the final period. In its win at then-No. 15 Kentucky (Dec. 11) ASU was 6-8 from the floor in OT. In short, when it mattered most in their consecutive wins over ranked teams the Sun Devils shot a combined 86 percent (19-22).
• In November Brunner became the 22nd Sun Devil to reach 1,000 career points. On Dec. 4 Brunner was named the ASU Classic MVP for the third time in her four-year Sun Devil career after averaging 12.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.5 steals while connecting on 62.5 percent of her field goals in the two-game tournament. She collected her 17th career double-double in ASU's win over Oral Roberts (Dec. 17).
• Dornstauder (102 career blocks) is in third place on ASU's all-time list for career blocks. Kali Bennett (165 blocks/2010-12) is in second place.
• Moos has 20 assists and only three turnovers during ASU's current winning streak. This season she has established new single-game career highs for assists (8) and steals (6) and tied a career high with three 3-pointers.
• Reili Richardson (33 assists), Sabrina Haines (25) and Moos (20) have combined for 78 of ASU's 120 assists during its current winning streak.
• Sophomore forward Kianna Ibis is shooting 54.5 percent (24-44) from the floor in ASU's last six games. She scored 13 points (one short of tying career high) in ASU's win over Oral Roberts (Dec. 17). All three of her double-figure scoring efforts this season have come in ASU's last five games.
• ASU's five member freshman class – Sydney Goodson, Reili Richardson, Jamie Ruden, Kiara Russell and Robbi Ryan – combined for 60 points and 19 assists the first two wins of the season. Richardson was named the Pac-12's Freshman of the Week after averaging 9.0 points and 5.5 assists while connecting on 58 percent of her shots in the two wins. Richardson, who had seven points and seven assists in her Sun Devil debut, tied fellow freshman Robbi Ryan with a game-high 11 points (4-7 FGs) to go along with four assists in ASU's 82-37 win over San Jose State. Ryan scored 19 points in ASU's loss at Marquette (Nov. 19). The 19 points represent the most scored by a Sun Devil this season. Ryan also led ASU in scoring (13 points) in its win at Middle Tennessee (Dec. 13). Russell started the first seven games at point guard before getting injured during the week of preparation for ASU's game at Kentucky (Dec. 11). She is currently being evaluated on a game-to-game basis. Richardson got her first career start against Kentucky and accounted for 12 points, six assists and four rebounds while playing 40-plus minutes. She has averaged 9.8 points and 5.5 assists in the four games she has started.
SUN DEVILS CONTINUE TO EXCEL IN NON-CONFERENCE PLAY
Last week's win over Holy Cross was ASU's 40th regular-season, non-conference win in the last four seasons. Going back to the 1986-87 season – the first season of Pac-10/Pac-12 play – ASU's 40 regular-season, non-conference wins are by far the most in a four-season stretch in program history (the next highest total is 33 games done three times: 2003-06/2004-07/2005-08). In addition, ASU's 40 wins leading up to the start of the conference season are more than any other team in the Pac-12 the last four seasons.
This is the fourth straight season that ASU will bring a winning streak of six or more games into Pac-12 play. The 2013-14 team won 10 straight, the 2014-15 team won seven straight, the 2015-16 team won six straight and this year's team will bring a seven-game winning streak into league play.
SUN DEVIL WBB JUST AS SUCCESSFUL IN THE CLASSROOM AS IT IS ON THE COURT
For the Fall 2016 semester the Sun Devil WBB team turned in an extraordinary effort in the classroom that resulted in a 3.63 team GPA. Every player on the roster has a cumulative GPA about 3.0, including nine players with a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher.
Since the 1996-97 season, Turner Thorne's first season at ASU, the Sun Devils lead the Pac-12 in the number of first-team All-Academic conference awards (19) and the combined number of first- and second-team All-Academic conference awards (40). In 2014-15 ASU's team GPA (3.558) was No. 7 on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) 2015 Academic Honor Roll.
BRUNNER NOMINATED FOR WBCA/ALLSTATE GOOD WORKS TEAM
Arizona State University women's basketball's Sophie Brunner was one of 97 women's basketball student-athletes recently named as nominees for the 2017 Allstate WBCA Good Works Team®. The esteemed award honors an outstanding group of student-athletes who represent the sport's finest in the areas of community service and leadership among their peers.
The Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® recognizes players at all levels of college basketball whose charitable involvement and altruistic acts stand out amongst all other student-athletes participating in the sport.
Brunner's selfless and giving attitude has been on display since her freshman year when she volunteered to be a frequent participant in the Sun Devil women's basketball team's Character Code program. Since that time Brunner, who was also a nominee for the Good Works Team in 2015, has led assemblies in more than 30 schools across the Valley where she encourages youth to practice good character at home, at school and with friends.
In 2014 Brunner joined a group of Sun Devil student-athletes who traveled with Arizona State University American Indian students to Hopi and Navajo lands as part of the ASU Tribal Nations Tour. Sophie joined her peers in the endeavor to interact with tribal members, encourage higher education and wellness, and work on community service projects.
Brunner's community service efforts have also included being a leader in the Interact Program, where she performed service projects for the underserved, made holiday baskets and kits for Haiti and organized food drives. She also took part in DAWG, a drug and alcohol awareness group promoting sobriety and mentoring her peers.
FREE THROWS
• ASU was picked to finish in fourth place in the Pac-12 by both the league's coaches and media who cover the conference. The Sun Devils received one first-place vote in the media poll.
• Over the last three seasons ASU is 40-7 (.851) in regular-season non-conference games and 49-6 (.891) at home.
• ASU is 31-5 in regular season Pac-12 games the last two seasons. Prior to its loss at Oregon State on Feb. 1, 2016, ASU's 9-0 record in Pac-12 play was its best conference start in program history (surpassed last 7-0 start in 2015).
• The Sun Devils are 23-4 in road games since the start of the 2014-15 season. Last season the Sun Devils set a program record with 11 road wins.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 55.1 points per game since the start of the 2014-15 season (79 games). ASU has held the opposition to 50 or fewer points 29 times during that stretch. They are 28-1 in those contests. On average, opposing teams scored more than 15.0 points under their scoring average when facing ASU last season. In fact, only two opponents (Marquette and Tennessee), scored more points than what they averaged coming into their respective games vs. ASU.
• In the last three seasons the Sun Devils are 26-6 in games decided by five points or less and/or overtime. The most recent such game came in ASU's 73-71 overtime win at Kentucky on Dec. 11.
SUN DEVIL WBB IN COSTA RICA
Over the summer the Sun Devil women's basketball did a six-day foreign tour of Costa Rica. Every four years the program is allowed to take a foreign tour to a destination where it plays games and partakes in a variety of team bonding activities in addition to volunteering time in the community.
The Sun Devils, who graduated five players from last year's team that won a share of the regular season Pac-12 title, won all four games during their stay in Costa Rica. From a basketball standpoint the trip was an invaluable experience for a relatively young team. While ASU returns its entire starting frontcourt this season in the form of seniors Sophie Brunner, Quinn Dornstauder and Kelsey Moos, they are also adding seven new members.
Following its first official practice of the season in October, Charli Turner Thorne said that having the practices prior to the trip and the games in Costa Rica helped to smooth the transition with such a new team.
"Obviously the fact we got some summer practices in I think made it a lot less frantic," Turner Thorne said. "We had great energy and effort out there, but we are by no means peaking right now."
Turner Thorne said preseason practices are important for setting the tone for the upcoming season.
"This such an impactful time because once you get into the season your rest and recovery is so important," Turner Thorne said. "This is when you really lay your foundation and establish how you are going to play. You figure out who you are and try and get as good as you can because once you get into games you are never going to have this amount of quality reps and practice time."
CHARLI TURNER THORNE HAS SUN DEVIL WBB AMONG NATION'S ELITE
The all-time winningest coach in program history and No. 2 in the Pac-12 in career wins (389), Charli Turner Thorne has turned Sun Devil women's basketball into one of the nation's premiere programs since taking over in 1996-97. Included in ASU's earlier run of 13 consecutive postseason appearances (2000-12) were a school record five-consecutive NCAA Tournament bids from 2005-09. During that time the Sun Devils qualified for the Elite Eight on a pair of occasions, making ASU one of only 15 programs in the country to have qualified for the Elite Eight at least two times between 2007-12.
Last season Turner Thorne was named the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year (coaches and media), the second time she has been recognized with the honor (2001), after leading the Sun Devils to their second regular season Pac-12 championship. ASU would go on to earn its highest NCAA Tournament seed (No. 2) in program history. In 2016 ASU has also tied the program records for most conference wins (16) and consecutive wins (15) and set the program record for most road wins (11). Turner Thorne would go on to also be named the WBCA Region 5 Co-Coach of the Year.
In 2014-15 Turner Thorne was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Women's College Coach of the Year for a season in which she led the Sun Devils to their best start in school history (18-1), their best conference start in school history (7-0), a second-place finish in the Pac-12 and 29 wins, the second-highest number of wins in school history.
In 2013-14 Turner Thorne, who recorded both the 400th win of her coaching career and her 200th Pac-12 win last season, raised the curtain on the team's current era of success as she helped the Sun Devils post one of the best turnarounds in the country as they went from a 13-18 record and a ninth-place Pac-12 finish (5-13) in 2012-13 to a 23-10 record and fourth-place Pac-12 finish (11-7). Included among ASU's 23 wins in 2013-14 were three triumphs over Top 25 teams.
The outstanding success Sun Devil women's basketball has enjoyed under Turner Thorne is a 180-degree difference from the program that had an aggregate record of 20-60 in the three years prior to her arrival and only two NCAA Tournament wins in its history.
CELEBRATING ELITE ACCOMPLISHMENT
This season will be the 10th anniversary of ASU's first ever appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight. Led by senior forwards Aubree Johnson and Emily Westerberg who were both named to the All-Pac-10 Team, ASU set school records for overall wins (31), most Pac-10 wins (16 - tied in 2016) and most road wins (10 - broken in 2016) With the honor, Westerberg became the first Sun Devil to be named to the All-Pac-10 Team three times. In addition to Johnson and Westerberg's accolades, sophomore guard Briann January was named All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention and guard Dymond Simon was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team.
SUN DEVIL WBB ANNOUNCES THE SIGNING OF EVA RUBIN AND BRE'YANNA SANDERS
On Nov. 9, 2016, Arizona State University head women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne today announced that student-athletes Eva Rubin and Bre'yanna Sanders signed national letters of intent to join the Sun Devil women's basketball program.
"We are excited to announce that Eva and Bre will be joining our Sun Devil women's basketball family," Turner Thorne said. "Both of these young women come from great families and will not only excel on the court but in the classroom and our community."
A 6-5 post, Rubin will be coming to ASU from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, Illinois, where she averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as a junior in 2016. Ranked No. 14 at her position by ESPN.com, Rubin earned Class 3A/4A All-State recognition from the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association last season in addition to also being named to the All-Area and All-Conference teams. As a sophomore in 2015, Rubin helped lead her squad to a fourth-place finish in the IHSA 4A state tournament. During Homewood-Flossmoor's run in the tournament, Rubin tied a Class 4A single-game record with five blocked shots.
A 6-0 forward, Sanders will be joining the Sun Devils from Clovis West High School in Fresno, California, where she has earned first-team All-Valley recognition in addition to being named the team's defensive player of the year each of the last two seasons. In 2016 Sanders averaged 11.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.2 blocks in helping lead her team to 30-4 record and the semifinals of the Southern California Regional Open Division. She would go on to be named the league co-player of the year. In 2015 Sanders had a big role on a team that posted a 26-5 record, its third straight Central Section Division I title and reached the second round of the Southern California Open Division regional.