WHEN: Saturday at 2:30 p.m. MT
WHERE: Wells Fargo Arena • Tempe, Ariz. • Click here to purchase tickets
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Arizona
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060/Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel
PROMOTION: Fans are encouraged to wear their favorite Star Wars costume to the game and enjoy characters, movie clips, and much more!
UP NEXT
For the third time in as many weeks the Arizona State women's basketball team will find itself playing consecutive games when it hosts its annual home tournament, the ASU Classic. The Sun Devils will start the weekend with a contest against the University at Buffalo on Saturday (2:30 p.m. MT) and then will face either UC Riverside or UNLV on Sunday (2:30 p.m. MT).
The Sun Devils (5-2) are coming off an arduous stretch in which they played seven games in 14 days to start the 2017-18 campaign. ASU opened the season with four straight triumphs after posting wins vs. UTSA (Nov. 12), at Fresno State (Nov. 15), vs. Sacramento State (Nov. 18) and vs. Colgate (Nov. 19). It had its winning streak snapped by current No. 6 Mississippi State (Nov. 23) in the opening game of last week's Cancun Challenge, a game which the Sun Devils led entering the fourth quarter. After falling to Green Bay (Nov. 24), ASU closed out its stay in Cancun with an impressive win over Columbia (Nov. 25).
Robbi Ryan (9.7 ppg/56 pct FGs) and Jamie Ruden (9.7 ppg) paced ASU's offensive efforts in its three games at the Cancun Challenge. Ryan, who was a combined 12-18 FGs vs. Green Bay and vs. Columbia, would go on to be named to the Cancun Challenge's All-Tournament Team. The Sun Devils also got key contributions from Charnea Johnson-Chapman (8.3 ppg/62.5 FGs), who averaged a team-high 6.3 rebounds in the three games, and Sabrina Haines (7.7 ppg), who connected on 87.5 pct of her free throws (7-8).
Saturday's game against Buffalo (4-0) will be the first ever meeting between the two schools. The Bulls are coming off a 22-win season, the program's highest win total since 1996-97 when it also won 22 games. ASU will conclude play in the ASU Classic on Sunday (2:30 p.m. MT) when it will face either UNLV or UC Riverside. The Rebels (4-1) and Highlanders (1-6) will meet in the first game of Saturday's doubleheader at 11:30 a.m.
After playing seven games in 14 days the Sun Devils' schedule will start to settle down as it will play seven games the entire month of December. Included in this month's contests will be a challenging assignment at current No. 13 Florida State on Dec. 10. ASU will also open Pac-12 play at the end of the month when it travels north for games at Colorado (Dec. 29) and at Utah (Dec. 31).
COVERAGE
Saturday's game vs. Buffalo can be seen on Pac-12 Arizona. JB Long (play by play) and Ben Braun (color) will have the call. Sunday's game vs. UNLV/UC Riverside will be streamed live at http://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university.
Both games can also be heard live on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060. Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona's 2010 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 14th season as the voice of ASU women's basketball. He will be joined by former Sun Devil head coach Maura McHugh. Pregame coverage will start at 2 p.m. on Saturday and at 2:15 p.m. on Sunday.
QUICK NOTES
• As a team, ASU's enters this weekend ranked No. 5 in the nation turnovers per game (11.3), No. 12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.49), No. 16 in turnover margin (+7.43), 21st in scoring defense (53.9 ppg) and 45th in field goal percentage (45.1).
• Charnea Johnson-Chapman currently leads the Pac-12 in FG pct. (66.7/30-45). She has grabbed 7 or more rebounds 5x, including career-high 10 in ASU's win over Sacramento State (Nov. 18).
• Reili Richardson, who leads the Sun Devils in assists (4.6 apg), is currently 16th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. She has 24 assists and only four turnovers in ASU's last five games.
• Robbi Ryan, who is currently tied for 11th in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (54.7), is averaging 12.5 points and shooting 67 percent from the floor (12-18) in ASU's last two games).
• Currently leading the team in scoring (11.1 ppg), Kianna Ibis is also tied for 11th in the Pac-12 in field goal percentage (54.7).
• Sophia Elenga is averaging 8.4 ppg and shooting 75 percent (15-20) from the floor in ASU's last five games after a 1-11 start in her first two games.
• ASU's top three players in free throw attempts – Sabrina Haines (20-24), Courtney Ekmark (14-17) and Kiara Russell (14-17) – are shooting a combined 82.7 percent from the line (48-58).
• ASU has allowed 12 or fewer points in a quarter 13 times this season. On the flip side, ASU has scored 20 or more points in quarter eight times.
• ASU has outscored the opposition 276-177 in the second/third quarters.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 56.0 points per game since the start of the 2014-15 season (108 games). ASU has held the opposition to 50 or fewer points 35 times during that stretch. They are 34-1 in those contests. The only loss came at home to Cal (50-49) on Feb. 8, 2015.
• Over the last three-plus seasons (108 games) ASU has allowed the opposition to make only 28.1 percent of its attempts from long range.
• In the last four-plus seasons the Sun Devils are 29-8 in games decided by five points or less and/or overtime.