WHAT: Sun Devil WBB (7-2) at No. 13/10 Florida State (9-0)
WHEN: Sunday at 2 p.m. ET/Noon MT
WHERE: Donald L. Tucker Center • Tallahassee, Fla.
LIVE STREAM: ACC Network Extra (Will need cable or satellite provider log-in)
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060/Live Audio
LIVE STATS: Click here
UP NEXT
The Arizona State women's basketball team (7-2) will face its toughest road assignment in non-conference play on Sunday (2 p.m. ET/Noon MT) when it travels to Tallahassee, Florida, to face No. 13/10 Florida State (9-0).
The Sun Devils are coming off a pair of impressive wins last week over Buffalo (76-57) and UC Riverside (73-48) to claim the championship of the ASU Classic. ASU Classic MVP Kianna Ibis scored 18 points in the win over Buffalo and averaged 13.0 points for the two games. Other key contributors included Sabrina Haines (14.5 ppg/56.3 FG pct) and Reili Richardson (15 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the weekend), who were both named to the ASU Classic All-Tournament Team. Nine Sun Devils got into the scoring column in the championship game against UC Riverside. Haines and Courtney Ekmark led the way who had 12 points each. Jamie Ruden had a double-figure scoring effort for the fourth straight game with 11 points and Richardson added 10 points for the Sun Devils, who captured the ASU Classic championship for the 14th time in the last 17 years.
Sunday's game represents the first time since the opening weekend of the season that the Sun Devils are not playing consecutive games after doing it each of the last three weeks. ASU started the season on an arduous pace as it played seven games in the first 14 days of the new campaign, including back-to-back games against current No. 6 Mississippi State and current No. 23 Green Bay at the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving weekend.
Although they played games last Saturday and Sunday, the first weekend of December started a much slower stretch for the Sun Devils as they will play seven games the entire month. After Sunday's game at FSU, the Sun Devils will have eight days before they play their next game against Idaho on Dec. 18. ASU will then have one more non-conference game (vs. Arkansas on Dec. 21) before opening 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
Sunday's game at Florida State can be seen via live stream on ACC Network Extra. The game can also be heard live on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060. Pregame coverage will start at 11:30 a.m. MT. 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.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS FLORIDA STATE
This will be only the sixth all-time meeting between ASU and Florida State (ASU leads 3-2). The Sun Devils were victorious in the first two meetings, defeating the Seminoles 85-70 in the 1983-84 season opener and again 63-58 in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament in Duluth, Ga. The Seminoles claimed the next two meetings – 65-55 in the championship game of the 2010 Junkanoo Jam played in the Bahamas and 66-65 in the 2015 NCAA Regional Semifinal in Greensboro, N.C. ASU came out on top, 68-56, in the most recent meeting in Tempe in December 2015. Former Sun Devil Arnecia Hawkins would go on to win Pac-12 and National POW honors after scoring a career-high 23 points.
DOMINANT DEVIL DEFENSE
• ASU enters Sunday's game leading the Pac-12 and ranked No. 13 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 53.3 ppg. The Sun Devils have limited the opposition to 12 or fewer points in a quarter 17 times this season.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 56.0 points per game since the start of the 2014-15 season (110 games). ASU has held the opposition to 50 or fewer points 36 times during that stretch. They are 35-1 in those contests. The only loss came at home to Cal (50-49) on Feb. 8, 2015.
• Over the last three-plus seasons (110 games) ASU has allowed the opposition to make only 28.1 percent of its attempts from long range.
IT'S ALL ABOUT POSSESSIONS
• The Sun Devils are currently first in the Pac-12 and 15th in the nation in turnovers per game (12.8). They also lead the Pac-12 and are 30th in the country in turnover margin (+5.78).
• ASU has made the most of its takeaways as it is averaging 19.7 points per game off the opposition's turnovers.
• The Sun Devils are averaging only 14.9 turnovers the last three plus seasons (110 games).
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS OF NOTE
• Reili Richardson, who leads the Sun Devils in assists (5.1 apg/eighth in the Pac-12), is currently fifth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. Richardson, who has 46 assists to go with only 10 turnovers, tied her career high with 10 assists (second time this season) in last week's win over Buffalo.
• Jamie Ruden is tied for the top spot in the Pac-12 in 3-point FG percentage (50.0/10-20). Ruden, who knocked down a career-high three triples in Sunday's win over UC Riverside, has led ASU in scoring (10.6 ppg) in its last five games.
• Charnea Johnson-Chapman is currently fourth in the Pac-12 in FG pct. (61.8/34-55). Also the team leader in rebounds (6.9 rpg/15th in the Pac-12), Johnson-Chapman has grabbed 7 or more rebounds 7x, including a career-high 10 in ASU's win over Sacramento State (Nov. 18).
• How is this for consistency? Sabrina Haines, a career 86.6 shooter at the free throw line currently leads the Pac-12 as she has hit 86.7 of her FTs this season.
• Currently leading the team in scoring (11.7 ppg), Kianna Ibis is tied for 24th in the Pac-12 in scoring and is 13th in FG percentage (51.7). Ibis' 20 points in ASU's win over Colgate (Nov. 19) represent the single-game high for a Sun Devils this season.
• Also among the Pac-12's leaders in FG percentage is Robbi Ryan (51.6/14th).
BENCH PRODUCTION
Although ASU's roster may be small in numbers (11 student-athletes), it has not kept the Sun Devils from having an extremely productive bench. On average, ASU's reserves are outscoring the opposition's bench 29.8-11.3. Leading the way is Jamie Ruden, who is currently third on the team in scoring (10.0 ppg). Ruden has scored in double figures in each of ASU's last four games.
SECOND CONTEST AGAINST 2017 ELITE EIGHT SQUAD
Sunday's game against Florida State represents the second time this season that ASU has faced a team that was among the NCAA's Elite Eight in 2017. On Thanksgiving Day the Sun Devil took on 2017 NCAA finalist Mississippi State. Kianna Ibis (13 points/nine in the second half) and Sabrina Haines (10 points/eight in the second half) combined to score 17 points over the final 20 minutes for the Sun Devils, who came back from a 13-point deficit to lead the Bulldogs by one point at the half and two points after three quarters. The game's major turning point came at the outset of the fourth quarter when Mississippi State went on an 8-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a six-point lead. The Sun Devils trailed the rest of the way as they could get no closer than three points. The Seminoles were defeated by eventual national champion South Carolina in the round of eight last season. How close were the Sun Devils to meeting the Seminoles in last year's NCAA Tournament? In the second round the Sun Devils (No. 8 seed) led South Carolina (No. 1 seed) by a point going into in the final minute before falling 71-68. If ASU had held on, it would have needed one more win to face FSU in the Elite Eight.
ASU PACES THE PAC-12 IN NON-CONFERENCE WINS SINCE 2013
Including this season's 7-2 record, ASU's 47 wins leading up to the start of the conference season are more than any other team in the Pac-12 since 2013. As a conference the Pac-12 has been raked No. 1 in the RPI each of the last two seasons. Last year's win over Holy Cross was ASU's 40th regular-season, non-conference win between 2013-16. Going back to the 1986-87 season – the first season of Pac-10/Pac-12 play – the 40 regular-season, non-conference wins were by far the most in a four-season stretch in program history (the next highest total was 33 games done three times: 2003-06/2004-07/2005-08).
WHEN: Sunday at 2 p.m. ET/Noon MT
WHERE: Donald L. Tucker Center • Tallahassee, Fla.
LIVE STREAM: ACC Network Extra (Will need cable or satellite provider log-in)
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060/Live Audio
LIVE STATS: Click here
UP NEXT
The Arizona State women's basketball team (7-2) will face its toughest road assignment in non-conference play on Sunday (2 p.m. ET/Noon MT) when it travels to Tallahassee, Florida, to face No. 13/10 Florida State (9-0).
The Sun Devils are coming off a pair of impressive wins last week over Buffalo (76-57) and UC Riverside (73-48) to claim the championship of the ASU Classic. ASU Classic MVP Kianna Ibis scored 18 points in the win over Buffalo and averaged 13.0 points for the two games. Other key contributors included Sabrina Haines (14.5 ppg/56.3 FG pct) and Reili Richardson (15 points, 14 assists and 10 rebounds for the weekend), who were both named to the ASU Classic All-Tournament Team. Nine Sun Devils got into the scoring column in the championship game against UC Riverside. Haines and Courtney Ekmark led the way who had 12 points each. Jamie Ruden had a double-figure scoring effort for the fourth straight game with 11 points and Richardson added 10 points for the Sun Devils, who captured the ASU Classic championship for the 14th time in the last 17 years.
Sunday's game represents the first time since the opening weekend of the season that the Sun Devils are not playing consecutive games after doing it each of the last three weeks. ASU started the season on an arduous pace as it played seven games in the first 14 days of the new campaign, including back-to-back games against current No. 6 Mississippi State and current No. 23 Green Bay at the Cancun Challenge over Thanksgiving weekend.
Although they played games last Saturday and Sunday, the first weekend of December started a much slower stretch for the Sun Devils as they will play seven games the entire month. After Sunday's game at FSU, the Sun Devils will have eight days before they play their next game against Idaho on Dec. 18. ASU will then have one more non-conference game (vs. Arkansas on Dec. 21) before opening 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
Sunday's game at Florida State can be seen via live stream on ACC Network Extra. The game can also be heard live on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060. Pregame coverage will start at 11:30 a.m. MT. 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.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS FLORIDA STATE
This will be only the sixth all-time meeting between ASU and Florida State (ASU leads 3-2). The Sun Devils were victorious in the first two meetings, defeating the Seminoles 85-70 in the 1983-84 season opener and again 63-58 in the second round of the 2009 NCAA Tournament in Duluth, Ga. The Seminoles claimed the next two meetings – 65-55 in the championship game of the 2010 Junkanoo Jam played in the Bahamas and 66-65 in the 2015 NCAA Regional Semifinal in Greensboro, N.C. ASU came out on top, 68-56, in the most recent meeting in Tempe in December 2015. Former Sun Devil Arnecia Hawkins would go on to win Pac-12 and National POW honors after scoring a career-high 23 points.
DOMINANT DEVIL DEFENSE
• ASU enters Sunday's game leading the Pac-12 and ranked No. 13 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 53.3 ppg. The Sun Devils have limited the opposition to 12 or fewer points in a quarter 17 times this season.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 56.0 points per game since the start of the 2014-15 season (110 games). ASU has held the opposition to 50 or fewer points 36 times during that stretch. They are 35-1 in those contests. The only loss came at home to Cal (50-49) on Feb. 8, 2015.
• Over the last three-plus seasons (110 games) ASU has allowed the opposition to make only 28.1 percent of its attempts from long range.
IT'S ALL ABOUT POSSESSIONS
• The Sun Devils are currently first in the Pac-12 and 15th in the nation in turnovers per game (12.8). They also lead the Pac-12 and are 30th in the country in turnover margin (+5.78).
• ASU has made the most of its takeaways as it is averaging 19.7 points per game off the opposition's turnovers.
• The Sun Devils are averaging only 14.9 turnovers the last three plus seasons (110 games).
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS OF NOTE
• Reili Richardson, who leads the Sun Devils in assists (5.1 apg/eighth in the Pac-12), is currently fifth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. Richardson, who has 46 assists to go with only 10 turnovers, tied her career high with 10 assists (second time this season) in last week's win over Buffalo.
• Jamie Ruden is tied for the top spot in the Pac-12 in 3-point FG percentage (50.0/10-20). Ruden, who knocked down a career-high three triples in Sunday's win over UC Riverside, has led ASU in scoring (10.6 ppg) in its last five games.
• Charnea Johnson-Chapman is currently fourth in the Pac-12 in FG pct. (61.8/34-55). Also the team leader in rebounds (6.9 rpg/15th in the Pac-12), Johnson-Chapman has grabbed 7 or more rebounds 7x, including a career-high 10 in ASU's win over Sacramento State (Nov. 18).
• How is this for consistency? Sabrina Haines, a career 86.6 shooter at the free throw line currently leads the Pac-12 as she has hit 86.7 of her FTs this season.
• Currently leading the team in scoring (11.7 ppg), Kianna Ibis is tied for 24th in the Pac-12 in scoring and is 13th in FG percentage (51.7). Ibis' 20 points in ASU's win over Colgate (Nov. 19) represent the single-game high for a Sun Devils this season.
• Also among the Pac-12's leaders in FG percentage is Robbi Ryan (51.6/14th).
BENCH PRODUCTION
Although ASU's roster may be small in numbers (11 student-athletes), it has not kept the Sun Devils from having an extremely productive bench. On average, ASU's reserves are outscoring the opposition's bench 29.8-11.3. Leading the way is Jamie Ruden, who is currently third on the team in scoring (10.0 ppg). Ruden has scored in double figures in each of ASU's last four games.
SECOND CONTEST AGAINST 2017 ELITE EIGHT SQUAD
Sunday's game against Florida State represents the second time this season that ASU has faced a team that was among the NCAA's Elite Eight in 2017. On Thanksgiving Day the Sun Devil took on 2017 NCAA finalist Mississippi State. Kianna Ibis (13 points/nine in the second half) and Sabrina Haines (10 points/eight in the second half) combined to score 17 points over the final 20 minutes for the Sun Devils, who came back from a 13-point deficit to lead the Bulldogs by one point at the half and two points after three quarters. The game's major turning point came at the outset of the fourth quarter when Mississippi State went on an 8-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a six-point lead. The Sun Devils trailed the rest of the way as they could get no closer than three points. The Seminoles were defeated by eventual national champion South Carolina in the round of eight last season. How close were the Sun Devils to meeting the Seminoles in last year's NCAA Tournament? In the second round the Sun Devils (No. 8 seed) led South Carolina (No. 1 seed) by a point going into in the final minute before falling 71-68. If ASU had held on, it would have needed one more win to face FSU in the Elite Eight.
ASU PACES THE PAC-12 IN NON-CONFERENCE WINS SINCE 2013
Including this season's 7-2 record, ASU's 47 wins leading up to the start of the conference season are more than any other team in the Pac-12 since 2013. As a conference the Pac-12 has been raked No. 1 in the RPI each of the last two seasons. Last year's win over Holy Cross was ASU's 40th regular-season, non-conference win between 2013-16. Going back to the 1986-87 season – the first season of Pac-10/Pac-12 play – the 40 regular-season, non-conference wins were by far the most in a four-season stretch in program history (the next highest total was 33 games done three times: 2003-06/2004-07/2005-08).