WHEN: Sunday at 3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT
WHERE: Maples Pavilion • Stanford, California
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Arizona/Pac-12 Bay Area
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and SDA TuneIn Channel
UP NEXT
The No. 18 Arizona State women's basketball team will close out the first of consecutive road trips to the state of California on Sunday (3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT) when it faces No. 10 Stanford in the second meeting of the season between the two teams.
The Sun Devils are in the middle of a stretch in which they are playing six of eight games on the road. After this weekend's trip to the Bay Area, which started with a 54-45 win at Cal on Friday, the Sun Devils will travel to Los Angeles next week to take on No. 13 UCLA (Fri., Jan. 27) and USC (Sun., Jan. 29).
The Sun Devils (14-4, 5-2 Pac-12) enter Sunday's game at Stanford tied for fourth place in the Pac-12 with No. 13 UCLA (14-4, 5-2). Both teams are one game behind the first-place trio of eighth-ranked Washington (18-2, 6-1), No. 10 Stanford (16-3, 6-1) and No. 11 Oregon State (17-2, 6-1). Three of ASU's next four games include meetings against Stanford (Jan. 22/away), UCLA (Jan. 27/away) and Oregon State (Feb. 3/home).
Coming off a tough 65-54 setback at home to Washington last Sunday, the Sun Devils were able to bounce back with a 54-45 win at Cal on Friday night. Sophie Brunner (14 points), Robbi Ryan (14 points) and Quinn Dornstauder (12 points) combined for 40 of ASU's 54 points. Brunner added 10 rebounds to collect her fifth double-double of the season (20th of her career) while Dornstauder grabbed eight rebounds for the Sun Devils, who outrebounded the Golden Bears (14-5, 2-5) 43-31. Reili Richardson, who was forced to miss a critical stretch of ASU's loss to the Huskies because of an ankle injury, came up with eight points, four assists (zero turnovers) and three steals. The Sun Devils shot 32 percent for game, including 22 percent (2-9) from long range. What they lacked in offense they made up for in other areas as they turned the ball over a season-low eight times – while forcing 17 Cal miscues – and put together an outstanding defensive effort that held the Bears 30 points below their season scoring average of 75.4 points coming into the game. ASU outscored Cal 12-3 over the last 3:39 of the game to break open what was a 42-42 tie.
On Sunday the Sun Devils will attempt to avenge a 64-57 loss to the Cardinal in the Pac-12 opener played on Dec. 30 in Tempe. The loss snapped ASU's seven-game winning streak and its string of four consecutive, regular season wins over the Cardinal. Richardson scored 14 points – seven of which came in the final quarter – while Brunner just missed a double-double with 15 points and nine rebounds. Trailing by eight points with less than five minutes remaining, the Sun Devils reeled off seven straight points to cut Stanford's lead to a single point after Richardson's layup with 1:19 remaining. The Sun Devils would get no closer as Stanford scored the last six points of the game – all coming from the free throw line.
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). 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. In 2015 they did not lose their second Pac-12 game until the 12th conference game. Last season their second Pac-12 loss occurred the final day of the regular season.
COVERAGE
Sunday's game at Stanford can be seen live on Pac-12 Arizona/Bay Area (Cindy Brunson/Mary Murphy) and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and on the Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel. Pregame radio coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Valley. 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.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS STANFORD
The Sun Devils have won four of the last six meetings against Stanford after sweeping the regular season series last season for the second straight season: 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.
• One of the biggest factors in ASU's recent Pac-12 success has been its ability to win on the road where they are a combined 18-3 in conference road games since 2015.
• ASU has held each of its first seven 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), Washington (88.5 ppg/65/-23.1), Cal (75.4/45/30.4).
• ASU had held the opposition to 10 or fewer points in a quarter 19x this season.
• As of January 21, ASU is ranked among the top third in the Pac-12 in scoring defense (1st/53.7 ppg/9th in the nation), 3-point FG percentage defense (1st/23.8/2nd in the nation), rebounding defense (1st/29.7 rpg), offensive rebounds (1st/16.1 rpg-21st in the nation) and rebounding margin (1st/+11.2/7th in the nation). Individually, Brunner is 4th in offensive rebounds (3.5 rpg), 7th in FG pct. (52.9), 9th in rebounds (7.8 rpg) and 17th in scoring (12.6 ppg); Dornstauder is t-11th in shot blocks (1.3 bpg), t-12th in offensive rebounds (2.2 rpg), 13th in rebounds (6.0 rpg), 15th in FG pct. (48.6) and 30th in scoring (9.7 ppg); Richardson is 3rd in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4), 4th in FT pct. (82.5) and 12th in assists (4.2 apg).
• Currently with 819 career rebounds, Brunner needs five rebounds to pass Monique Ambers for second place on ASU's all-time rebounds list. She needs 47 points to break into ASU's Top 10 for career points (1,183 points/14th). Brunner, who collected the 20th double-double of her career (14 points, 10 rebounds) at Cal on Jan. 20, is averaging 14.4 points and 9.9 rebounds in ASU's last nine games (includes four double-doubles).
• Quinn Dornstauder is averaging 12.7 points and 7.8 rebounds in ASU's last six 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 wins at Utah (15 points, nine rebounds) and at Cal (12 points, eight rebounds).
• Kelsey Moos (102 starts in 104 career games), 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 five games) after suffering a foot injury in ASU's 2OT win over Cal (Jan. 1). She is expected to return next month.
• 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) and tied for the team lead (14 points) in ASU's win at Cal (Jan. 20). She has started ASU's last five games (9.4 ppg|5-11 3FGs - 45.5 pct.) 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 11 games at point guard and has averaged 11.0 points and 4.5 assists while shooting 90 pct (36-40) 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. Last week she scored a career-high 15 points vs. WSU and followed that by scoring 11 points to go with a career-best seven rebounds and a career-high-tying seven assists vs. Washington. Richardson needs 30 assists to break ASU's freshman assists record held by Kylan Loney (104 in 2002).
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 36 wins in Pac-12 play trail only Oregon State's 38. 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 52-8 (.867) at home.
• ASU is 36-7 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 26-4 in road games since the start of the 2014-15 season (includes an 18-3 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 (86 games). ASU has held the opposition to 50 or fewer points 32 times during that stretch. They are 31-1 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-plus 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.
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 (394), 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 NOTES
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 five games. She is expected to return next month. 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. Freshman Reili Richardson (team-high 11 points, career-high seven rebounds, career-high-tying seven assists) was forced to leave ASU's game vs. Washington (Jan. 15) after suffering an ankle injury with 7:37 remaining in the fourth quarter (game was tied at 48-48 at the time). By the time Richardson returned after being treated on the bench the Sun Devils were down 59-50 with 2:54 left.
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 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.