WHEN: Sunday at 6 p.m. MT
WHERE: Wells Fargo Arena • Tempe, Arizona
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Network
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and SDA TuneIn Channel (pregame can be heard on SDA TuneIn Channel beginning at 5:30 p.m.)
PROMOTION: Hosting its first official "Green Game," Sun Devil Women's Basketball is showcasing the team's commitment to sustainable practices. Sunday's game will be used as a platform to highlight and educate fans on Arizona State's desire to make the world more sustainable. Fans can use the code greengameasu for discounted tickets. Click here to purchase.
UP NEXT
It will be a battle between two of Pac-12's top teams on Sunday (6 p.m. MT) when the No. 19 Arizona State women's basketball team hosts eighth-ranked Washington at Wells Fargo Arena. Sunday's game vs. the Huskies will be the Sun Devil women's basketball program's first official "Green Game," as the team will be showcasing its commitment to sustainable practices.
Both the Sun Devils (13-3, 4-1 Pac-12) and the Huskies (17-2, 5-1 Pac-12) come into Sunday's game tied for first place in the Pac-12, a spot also occupied by No. 10 Oregon State (15-2, 4-1) and No. 13 Stanford (14-3, 4-1).
Sunday's game will feature one of the nation's most prolific offenses against one of its best defenses. Coming a Final Four appearance last season, the high-powered Huskies picked up right where they left off last season as they are currently ranked No. 1 in the nation in 3-point field goals made (213), fourth in scoring offense (88.5 ppg) and sixth in 3-point FG percentage (39.9). They are led by All-American Kelsey Plum, the nation's top scorer (31.0 ppg) and the Pac-12's all-time scoring leader, who went over 3,000 career points in Washington's win over Arizona on Friday. The Sun Devils will look to counter Washington's attack with a defense that is currently ranked second in the nation in 3-point FG percentage defense (24.2) and 10th in the nation in scoring defense (53.5 ppg). The 47 3-pointers the Sun Devils have given up this season (best in the Pac-12) are 22 fewer than the next best team Utah (69).
ASU defeated Washington State 68-49 on Friday for its fourth straight win. Sophie Brunner recorded her fourth double-double of the season (20 points and a career-high 15 rebounds) to lead the Sun Devils, who outscored the Cougars 39-19 in the second half. Reili Richardson scored a career-high 15 points while Quinn Dornstauder added 11 points to help the Sun Devils post their 11th win in 12 games.
Last week started a four-week stretch for the Sun Devils that has them playing six of eight games away from home. Next week they will travel to the Bay Area for rematches against No. 24 Cal (won 72-62 in 2OT on New Year's Day) and No. 13 Stanford (lost 64-57 in Pac-12 opener on Dec. 30) and then will close out the month of January in Los Angeles for games at No. 17 UCLA and USC. Including Sunday's game against Washington, ASU's next four opponents have an aggregate record of 57-12 (.826).
This season represented the first time since 2002 that the Sun Devils opened 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). Prior to tying for the conference 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). After they dropped their Pac-12 opener to Stanford on Dec. 30, the Sun Devils found themselves in the unusual spot of having a losing record in conference play. One of the keys to ASU's Pac-12 success 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 league games.
COVERAGE
Sunday's game vs. Washington can be seen live on Pac-12 Network (Anne Marie Anderson/Mary Murphy/Jill Savage) and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and on the Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel. Pregame radio coverage will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday (Sunday's pregame show can be heard on the Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel). 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 Maura McHugh.
SUN DEVIL WOMEN'S BASKETBALL HIGHLIGHTS ASU'S GREEN INITIATIVES IN GAME VERSUS WASHINGTON ON JAN. 15
Hosting its first official "Green Game," Sun Devil Women's Basketball is showcasing the team's commitment to sustainable practices. On Sunday, women's basketball will use its game against the No. 8 Washington Huskies as a platform to highlight and educate fans on Arizona State's desire to make the world more sustainable.
In December women's basketball became the first Sun Devil Athletics team to complete the new green sports sustainability checklist and to be certified a green team.
In addition to the check sheet, the team practices at the Weatherup Center, the first athletic practice facility in the nation to become LEED-certified, earning v2+ Gold status. The facility used renewable maple wood flooring and a large portion of the construction on the building used recycled and locally manufactured materials. The solar panels installed on the roof of the Weatherup Center provide 45 percent of the building's energy and occupancy sensors and window shades help conserve the energy already in use by the facility.
The game, Sunday in Wells Fargo Arena, will be played under the first operational LED lighting installation in an NCAA Power Five arena. The LED lighting installation, furnished by Musco Sports lighting, increased the lighting levels within Wells Fargo Arena by 25 percent. The facility now exceeds the 125-vertical foot-candle measurement needed for NCAA Broadcast standards, which factors into championship selections for Arizona State. While improving lighting in the venue, the LED system uses a fraction of the energy from the previous installation. The high-efficiency system reduces energy consumption by 75 percent with a 10-year energy savings is estimated at $284,000 and combined with reduced maintenance costs the total savings estimated at $357,000 over a 10-year period.
Sustainability is one of the pillars of Arizona State University, and Sun Devil Athletics prides itself with aligning the department to minimize its carbon footprint. Athletics provides a unique opportunity to promote sustainability at our University, and Sun Devil Athletics has fully embraced the opportunity to advance sustainable practices as an institution and with our fans. In June of 2016, USG and NACDA named Arizona State was named the most sustainable athletics department for its innovative and creative sustainable practices. Vice President for University Athletics and Athletics Director Ray Anderson was named to the board of the Green Sports Alliance in November, adding representation of an athletics director from a leader in sustainability within the NCAA to a group with representatives from the NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS WASHINGTON
The Sun Devils have dominated of late having won 21 of the last 26 meetings, including 19 of the last 22. The two teams played only once in 2014 (ASU W 78-60 in Seattle) and 2015 (ASU W 62-48 in Tempe). Last season the Sun Devils swept the season series, winning 68-61 in Seattle and 77-57 in Tempe. Sophie Brunner led ASU with 15 points and nine boards in the first meeting. ASU outscored UW 26-16 in the fourth quarter to overcome a three-point deficit entering the final period. In the rematch Quinn Dornstauder scored a career-high 25 points to lead Sun Devils, who scored 14 straight points in the third quarter to break open what was a tie game.
In 2010 the Huskies snapped a 10-game losing streak to the Sun Devils with a 62-56 victory in Seattle before the Sun Devils won the rematch in Tempe, 67-61 (OT).
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.
• ASU has held each of its first five Pac-12 opponents 12 or more points below their respective scoring average coming into the game: Stanford (76.4/64/-12.4), Cal (80.8/62/-18.8 - in double OT), Utah (72.1/44/-28.1), Colorado (78.3/51/27.3), Washington State (73.5/49/24.5).
• ASU had held the opposition to 10 or fewer points in a quarter 16x this season.
• Included in its 52-7 home record since 2013-14 is a 26-4 record in Pac-12 home games.
• As of January 14, ASU is ranked among the top third in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (1st/53.5 ppg), rebounding defense (1st/29.3 rpg), offensive rebounds (1st/16.1 rpg), 3-point FG percentage defense (2nd/24.2), and rebounding margin (1st/+11.7). Individually, Brunner is tied for 3rd in offensive rebounds (3.5 rpg), 7th in FG pct. (54.6), 9th in rebounds (7.6 rpg), 15th in FT pct. (71.2) and 18th in scoring (12.8 ppg); Dornstauder is 11th in FG pct (50.4), 13th in rebounds (6.0 rpg) and 12th in blocks (1.3 bpg); Richardson is 3rd in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.3), 5th in FT pct. (80.7) and tied for 12th in assists (4.0 apg); and Moos is 10th in steals (1.8 spg), 12th in offensive rebounds (2.2 rpg) and 17th in rebounds (5.8).
• Currently with 1,161 points/14th, Brunner needs 69 points to break into ASU's Top 10 for career points. She needs 24 rebounds (currently has 800 career boards) to pass Monique Ambers for second place on ASU's all-time rebounds list. Brunner, who collected the 19th double-double of her career (20 points, career-high 15 rebounds) vs. WSU on Friday, is averaging 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds and shooting 82.6 pct (19-23) from the line in last seven games.
• Quinn Dornstauder is averaging 14.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in ASU's last four games. She had double-doubles in ASU's wins over Cal (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Colorado (13 points, career-high 12 rebounds) and just missed a double-double in ASU's win over Utah (15 points, nine rebounds).
• Kelsey Moos, who has established new single-game career highs this season for assists (8) and steals (6) and tied a career high with three 3-pointers, is currently out (missed last three games) after suffering a foot injury in ASU's 2OT win over Cal (Jan. 1).
• 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 games 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). Ryan also led ASU in scoring (13 points) in its win at Middle Tennessee (Dec. 13). She has started ASU's last three games (9.3 ppg/4.3 rpg/52.4) in place of Kelsey Moos, who is currently out due to injury.
• 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 missed six games before returning for ASU's game at Utah (Jan. 6). Richardson has started the last nine games at point guard and has averaged 11.3 points and 4.3 assists while shooting 88 pct (30-34) from the line during that stretch. In her first career start against Kentucky Richardson accounted for 12 points, six assists and four rebounds while playing 40-plus minutes. She scored a career-high 15 points in Friday's win vs. WSU.
SUN DEVILS CONTINUE TO BE AMONG THE PAC-12'S BEST
In what has arguably been the most competitive era in the history of Pac-12 women's basketball, Arizona State has established itself as one of the conference's most successful programs. Since 2015 ASU's 35 wins in Pac-12 play trail only Oregon State's 36. In 2015 the Sun Devils just missed tying for a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, a feat they would accomplish last season after tying Oregon State in the league standings (16-2).
ASU's win over Holy Cross on Dec. 21 was its 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 was the fourth straight season that ASU brought 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 brought 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 AND SENIOR CLASS AWARD
In December Sophie Brunner was one of 97 women's basketball student-athletes 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 ASU 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.
On January 5 it was announced Brunner was one of 30 student-athletes named as candidates for the 2016-17 Senior CLASS Award® in women's basketball. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
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 52-7 (.881) at home.
• ASU is 35-6 in regular season Pac-12 games going back to 2015. Prior to its loss at Oregon State last season, 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 25-4 in road games since the start of the 2014-15 season (includes a 17-3 mark in Pac-12 play). Last season the Sun Devils set a program record with 11 road wins.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 55.0 points per game since the start of the 2014-15 season (84 games). ASU has held the opposition to 50 or fewer points 31 times during that stretch. They are 30-1 in those contests. The only loss came at home to Cal (50-49) on Feb. 8, 2015. 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 27-6 in games decided by five points or less and/or overtime, including a 2-0 record this season: ASU's 73-71 overtime win at No. 15 Kentucky on Dec. 11 and its 72-62, double-OT win vs. No. 21 Cal on Jan. 1.
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 (393), 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.
INJURY REPORT
Kelsey Moos suffered a foot injury late in the second overtime of ASU's win over Cal on Jan. 1 and has missed ASU's last three games. She is currently being evaluated on a week-to-week basis. Freshman guard Kiara Russell started the first seven games of the season at point guard before sustaining an injury (quad) in practice on Dec. 5. She missed six games and returned to action at Utah on Jan. 6. Freshman post Jamie Ruden suffered a foot injury in practice on Dec. 28 and is likely to miss the remainder of the season.
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.