April 27, 2005
TEMPE, Ariz. -
2004-05 Season in Review in PDF Format
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Making their first NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance in 22 years, the 16th-ranked Arizona State University Sun Devils finished the 2004-05 season with a 24-10 overall record. Under the direction of ninth-year head coach Charli Turner Thorne, who became the all-time winningest mentor in school history this season, ASU advanced to the NCAA's round of 16 for just the third time in school history and the first occasion since the women's tournament was expanded to 64 teams. The Sun Devils were ranked 16th in the final USA Today/ESPN WBCA Coaches' Poll of the year, marking the team's highest ranking since 1983, and finished just one win shy of the school record for victories in a single season. Winners of seven of its last nine games, ASU turned in the seventh 20-win season in school history and the third for Turner Thorne. The Sun Devils tied for second in the Pac-10 standings and matched the school mark for conference victories with a 12-6 record, marking the fourth time in five years that ASU has finished in the top half of the Pac-10 standings.
ASU in the NCAA Tournament With an at-large invitation to the 2005 NCAA Tournament, ASU made its sixth all-time NCAA appearance and its first since advancing to the second round in 2002. With the invitation, which marked ASU's school-record sixth consecutive postseason berth, Charli Turner Thorne became the first ASU women's basketball mentor to lead her team to three NCAA Tournament berths (2001, 2002 and 2005). The fifth-seeded Sun Devils traveled to Fresno, Calif., to open NCAA action, turning in an 87-65 victory over Ohio Valley Conference champion Eastern Kentucky in the first round and a 70-61 win over then No. 11/13 Notre Dame to earn a trip home to the Tempe Regional.
ASU advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the third time in school history and the first time since the women's tournament was expanded to 64 teams. The Sun Devils have never advanced past the national round of 16. ASU also reached the Sweet Sixteen in 1982 and 1983, both under then head coach Juliene Simpson. ASU took on top-seeded North Carolina in the regional semifinal game but lost a hard-fought game to the ACC champion Tar Heels 79-72 to end the 2004-05 season. Senior Kylan Loney was named to the NCAA Tempe Regional All-Tournament Team. Including a 2-1 NCAA Tournament record in 2005, the Sun Devils now hold a 5-6 all-time record in their six forays into the "Big Dance."
Pac-10 Conference Honorees Sophomore forward Emily Westerberg and junior forward Kristen Kovesdy earned 2004-05 All-Pac-10 honors in a vote by the league's coaches. Westerberg was named to the All-Pac-10 first team after being a Pac-10 All-Freshman selection in 2004, while Kovesdy was named to the honorable-mention squad for the second consecutive season.
Westerberg became the ninth Sun Devil to earn first-team All-Pac-10 accolades and just the second sophomore in school history to earn first-team all-conference honors with the other being Kym Hampton who was a three-time first-team All-Western Collegiate Athletic Conference honoree (1981-83).
Kovesdy and sophomore forward Aubree Johnson were named to the Pac-10 All-Tournament team after helping to lead ASU to the championship game of the league tournament for the second time in the four-year history of the event. ASU opened the Pac-10 Tournament with wins over UCLA and Oregon before falling to then top-ranked Stanford in the championship game.
School-Record Six Again Named to Pac-10 All-Academic Team A school-record six Sun Devils were named to the 2005 Pac-10 Conference Women's Basketball All-Academic teams, marking the second consecutive season that six ASU student-athletes have earned conference all-academic honors. To be eligible for selection to the Pac-10 All-Academic teams, a student-athlete must have a minimum 3.0 overall GPA and be either a starter or significant contributor.
Sophomore forward Aubree Johnson was named to the all-academic second team. For Johnson, who carries a 3.83 GPA and is studying kinesiology, it marks her first career all-academic selection.
ASU also had five players selected to the Pac-10 All-Academic honorable-mention squad, including senior guards Carrie Buckner, Kylan Loney and Lauren Stagg, redshirt freshman guard Jacquelyn Johnson and sophomore forward Emily Westerberg. Buckner and Loney earned Pac-10 All-Academic honors for the third time in their careers, while it marked the second all-academic accolade for Stagg. Johnson and Westerberg were first-time honorees to the Pac-10 All-Academic squad.
Pac-10 Victories With a 12-6 league mark this year, the Sun Devils tied their school record for Pac-10 wins. It also marked the sixth time in school history that ASU reached double figures for Pac-10 wins (four times under Charli Turner Thorne). ASU also won a school-record 12 Pac-10 games two other times, capturing a share of the 2001 Pac-10 championship and matching that mark in 2002 before going on to win the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament.
The Sun Devils finished in a three-way tie for second place in the Pac-10 standings this season, marking the fourth time in five years that the team has finished in the top half of the Pac-10 standings. ASU was picked to finish fourth in the Pac-10 by the media and the league's coaches in this year's preseason poll. In 2003-04, ASU was picked fourth by the media and fifth by the coaches and ended up in a tie for third with an 11-7 mark in Pac-10 action.
20-Win Seasons With a 24-10 record in 2004-05, the Sun Devils turned in the seventh 20-win season in school history and the third under ninth-year head coach Charli Turner Thorne. ASU finished the year just one win shy of the school record for single-season victories. The Sun Devils tied the school record for single-season victories with a 25-9 record in 2001-02.
ASU's 20-Win Seasons
25-7 1981-82 (NCAA Sweet Sixteen)
25-9 2001-02 (Pac-10 Tournament Champs, NCAA Second Round)
24-10 2004-05 (NCAA Sweet Sixteen)
23-7 1982-83 (NCAA Sweet Sixteen)
21-11 1980-81 (NWIT Championship Game)
20-9 1991-92 (NCAA First Round)
20-11 2000-01 (Pac-10 Co-Champions, NCAA First Round)
Turner Thorne First in All-Time Wins at ASU With ASU's 44-42 victory at then No. 19 UCLA on Jan. 14, ninth-year head coach Charli Turner Thorne became the all-time winningest coach in Arizona State University women's basketball history. She now holds a 147-122 record at ASU and has passed Juliene Simpson who notched a 134-92 mark in eight seasons in Tempe (1979-87).
Turner Thorne has led her Sun Devils to a school-record six consecutive postseason bids, including NCAA Tournament appearances in 2001, 2002 and 2005. She is the only coach in school history to lead the team to five consecutive winning seasons as well as three NCAA Tournament appearances, while with a 24-10 mark this season, she also became the second Sun Devil mentor to turn in three 20-wins seasons (Juliene Simpson is the other).
Since Turner Thorne took over the reins of the program in 1996-97, the Sun Devils have regained the national prominence the team enjoyed in the early 1990s. In 2000-01, Turner Thorne's Sun Devils captured ASU's first Pac-10 Championship, an NCAA berth, a return to the national rankings and the team's first 20-win season in nine years, while her 2001-02 squad tied the school mark for single-season wins with a 25-9 record, advanced to the NCAA Tournament and won the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament Championship.
Turner Thorne at Arizona State University
Year Overall Season Highlights
1996-97 9-19 Most wins in four years
1997-98 10-17 1st double-digit wins since 1992-93
1998-99 12-15 Best conference finish since 1993
1999-00 14-15 WNIT, ASU's first postseason bid since 1992
2000-01 20-11 First ever Pac-10 title, NCAA Tournament bid,
Pac-10 & WBCA Region 8 Coach of the Year
2001-02 25-9 Pac-10 Tournament Title, NCAA Second Round,
Tied school record for wins in a season
2002-03 16-14 WNIT Second Round
2003-04 17-12 WNIT, school-best fifth straight postseason bid
2004-05 24-10 Third NCAA bid & 20-win season in five years,
First trip to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 22 years
Career 147-122 All-Time Winningest Coach in ASU WBB History
More Balanced Than A Scale The Sun Devils got very balanced scoring with eight different players leading the team in scoring in at least one game in 2004-05. In fact, the statistics ended up so close that sophomore Emily Westerberg and junior Kristen Kovesdy were named the team's co-scoring award winners at the banquet with just two points separating them. Westerberg finished 10th in the Pac-10 statistics at 11.3 points per game (383 points), while Kovesdy was 12th at 11.2 points per contest (381). Senior Kylan Loney finished third on the team and 20th in the league at 9.8 points per game, including a team-best 14.3 in ASU's NCAA Sweet Sixteen run. ASU had eight players averaging at least 3.4 points per game this year.
Kovesdy led the team in scoring 12 times, while Westerberg accomplished the feat seven times. Westerberg turned in 18 points in ASU's Dec. 21 win over No. 8 Connecticut and a career-best (and team season-high) 26 points in a Jan. 22 win over Oregon. She also added 20 in ASU's first-round NCAA win over Eastern Kentucky. Kovesdy's 19 points in the Pac-10 quarterfinals vs. UCLA were just two shy of her season high of 21 she accomplished twice this year (vs. Gonzaga on Dec. 4 and vs. Cal on Feb. 3). Loney scored a season-high 23 points, including 5-of-9 three-point attempts, in ASU's Dec. 7 victory at then No. 11/14 Georgia. She paced the team with 18 points in ASU's NCAA win over No. 11/13 Notre Dame and had 20 in the Sweet Sixteen loss to North Carolina.
In addition to scoring, the Sun Devils enjoyed equally balanced rebounding this season with eight different players leading the team in the category in at least one game. Sophomore Aubree Johnson finished first on the team and 17th in the Pac-10 with 5.1 rebounds per game. She paced the team in the category a squad-best nine games, including each of the last four tilts of the year (9.0 rpg in that stretch). Johnson had a career-high 14 boards (seven offensive) in the Pac-10 Tournament championship game vs. No. 1/2 Stanford on March 7. Sophomore Emily Westerberg finished second on the team with 4.9 rebounds per game, including a career-best 14 rebounds Jan. 20 against Oregon State, while senior Carrie Buckner (4.4) and junior Amy Denson (4.0) trailed closely behind. Eight Sun Devils averaged at least 2.0 boards per contest this season.
Getting Defensive Arizona State has established itself as one of the top defensive teams in the Pac-10 Conference and the nation. The Sun Devils have led the league in at least one defensive category in each of the last seven seasons (1998-99 to present). In 2004-05, ASU paced the Pac-10 in scoring defense (54.7 points per game) for the third time in school history, rebounding defense (32.2 rebounds per game) for the fourth time in five years and three-point defense (25.4 percent) for the fourth straight season and the sixth time in seven years. ASU also finished the year ranked 15th in the nation in scoring defense.
This year, ASU set or tied its school single-season marks in all three categories - scoring, rebounding and three-point defense. The 2001-02 squad had previously held the school record for fewest points allowed at 59.1, while at 54. 7 ppg, ASU also broke the Pac-10 record for scoring defense in 2004-05, previously held by Stanford which gave up just 58.4 points per game in 2003-04. Last year's squad also allowed a school-record 32.2 rebounds per game, while at 25.4 percent, ASU shattered the previous mark of 27.1 percent from three-point land that the 1998-99 team allowed.
ASU held 21 of its 34 opponents under 60 points, 13 to 50 points or fewer and four under 40 points. The Sun Devils set the school record for fewest points by a Pac-10 opponent in a 50-38 win over Oregon State on Jan. 20 and tied the school mark for fewest points allowed in all games after holding Prairie View A&M to just 30 points on Nov. 27. The very next game, ASU almost tied the school record again with a 71-31 victory over Alabama State on Dec. 3. ASU also outrebounded Prairie View A&M 43-9 in the win.
In three games with Stanford, which lead the Pac-10 and finished fourth in the nation in scoring at 77.8 points per game, the Sun Devils held the Cardinal to just 63.7, including a season-low 56 in the Pac-10 Championship game on March 7. ASU also matched its school record for fewest points allowed in a half when it held Washington State to nine in the opening frame of its Feb. 26 victory.
In the last seven seasons (since the start of the 1998-99 season to present), ASU has held its opponents to just 61.5 points and 33.7 rebounds per game and 28.8 percent shooting from beyond the arc (13,101 pts, 7,183 rbs, 579-2009 treys, 213 games).
In the Rankings ASU was ranked 16th in the final USA Today/ESPN/WBCA Coaches' poll, marking the first time that the team had been ranked in the final poll of the year since 2002. The No. 16 ranking marks the highest for the team since being tabbed 15th on Nov. 18, 1983. No. 16 ASU was joined by two other Pac-10 teams in the final poll, including No. 5 Stanford and No. 22 USC.
ASU received votes in every week of the season and spent six weeks in the top 25. During the regular season, the Sun Devils had climbed as high as No. 21 in the Dec. 27 AP poll and No. 23 in the Dec. 28 coaches' rankings. The team debuted at 23rd in the Associated Press poll and 25th in the coaches' ranking on Dec. 13 but fell out of the polls after just one week. The Dec. 13 poll marked the first time that the Sun Devils were ranked in the national top 25 since Jan. 14, 2002 (23rd in AP poll that week).
Against Ranked Opponents ASU turned in a 5-5 record against ranked opponents in 2004-05, including a 61-50 upset of then No. 8/8 Connecticut on Dec. 21 and a 70-61 victory over then No. 11/13 Notre Dame in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Four of ASU's five losses came against teams ranked No. 1 in the national polls at one point during the season (Nov. 12 at LSU, three losses to Stanford), while the other came in the NCAA Sweet Sixteen against then No. 4/2 North Carolina. ASU's 67-57 win at then No. 11/14 Georgia on Dec. 7 marked the team's first victory over a ranked opponent on the road since the Sun Devils defeated then No. 15 USC 64-55 on March 11, 1993.
Tough Slate The Sun Devils played the 20th-toughest non-conference schedule in the country according to the final WBCA/Summerville RPI. ASU played 15 regular-season games against nine teams that earned 2005 NCAA Tournament bids, including four Sweet Sixteen participants (LSU, Georgia, UConn and Stanford). NCAA qualifiers on ASU's 2004-05 schedule included Virginia (1-0 record), LSU (0-1), Arizona (1-1), Georgia (1-0), Oregon (2-1), New Mexico (0-1), UConn (1-0), USC (1-1) and Stanford (0-3).
Home-Court Advantage ASU finished the season with a 12-2 mark at Wells Fargo Arena, including a Dec. 21 upset of then eighth-ranked UConn. The team's NCAA Sweet Sixteen loss to No. 4/2 North Carolina snapped a seven-game home winning streak. Prior to that loss, the Sun Devils had won 17 of their previous 18 home contests and 30 of 33 at Wells Fargo Arena. In the last two seasons, the team turned in a 25-3 home record (.893).
ASU's Jan. 7 loss to then No. 8/8 Stanford snapped the team's 10-game winning streak at Wells Fargo Arena and marked the team's first loss at home since Jan. 14, 2004. The Sun Devils hold a 74-16 record at home in the last six seasons (.822, 1999-00 to present) and a 51-9 mark at Wells Fargo Arena over the last four campaigns (.850).
The Sun Devils turned in a 13-1 record at Wells Fargo Arena in 2003-04, tying the school record for home wins for the third consecutive year and setting the school mark for home winning percentage in a season (.929). In 2002-03, ASU went 13-4 at Wells Fargo Arena which matched the school-record 13 victories the 2001-02 team had (13-2).
ASU's Record at Wells Fargo Arena since 1999-00
2004-05 12-2 (.857)
2003-04 13-1 (.929)
2002-03 13-4 (.765)
2001-02 13-2 (.867)
2000-01 12-4 (.750)
1999-00 11-3 (.786)
A Little Help From Their Friends With 579 assists this year, ASU set the school single-season record in the category. The team shattered the previous school mark of 476 set by the 2001-02 Pac-10 Tournament championship squad. Last year, ASU finished just one assist shy of the previous school record with 475 (16.4 dishes per game).
ASU finished first in the Pac-10 and 16th in the nation with an average of 17.0 assists per game this season. The Sun Devils dished out an assist on 71.9 percent of their field goals this season (579 on 805 field goals), including 23 of 28 March 5 against UCLA. ASU had four players with 70 or more assists this year, led by senior Kylan Loney who ranked 10th in the Pac-10 with 3.0 assists per game (103 total). With 399 career assists, Loney finished second all time in the Sun Devil career record book. Loney averaged 5.7 assists per game over the last seven contests of the season (38), including a career-best nine in ASU's Feb. 26 Senior Day victory over Washington State and nine again in ASU's NCAA first-round victory over Eastern Kentucky. She also finished sixth in the Pac-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio on the year (1.14).
Senior Carrie Buckner (2.4 per game) finished second on the squad in assists, while sophomore Emily Westerberg (76) and junior Amy Denson (71) trailed closely behind at 2.2 and 2.1 assists per contest, respectively. Buckner had the best overall assist-to-turnover ratio on the squad (1.62) with 81 assists and 50 turnovers. She would have ranked fourth in the Pac-10 but fell short of the minimum of 3.0 assists per game.
Westerberg's Ways A 2005 first-team All-Pac-10 honoree, sophomore forward Emily Westerberg led the Sun Devils and ranked 10th in the Pac-10 in scoring at 11.3 points per game, including a team-high 20 points in ASU's NCAA first-round win over Eastern Kentucky. She also finished second on the team in rebounding at 4.9 boards per game. Westerberg paced the Sun Devils in scoring (11.5 ppg) and rebounding (5.6 rpg) in Pac-10 play.
Westerberg turned in 19 games in double figures for scoring this season, which was second on the team, including a career-best 26 points in a Jan. 22 win over Oregon. She scored 18 points in ASU's Dec. 21 upset of then eighth-ranked Connecticut. She pulled down 11 rebounds Jan. 14 at UCLA and had a career-best 14 Jan. 20 vs. Oregon State. Westerberg turned in her first career double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds vs. UCLA on Feb. 12.
Westerberg was also outstanding from the free throw line in 2004-05, finishing third in the Pac-10 and 26th in the nation at 84.9 pecent from the charity stripe (101-119). She made 19 of her last 22 free throw attempts over the last six games of the year, including 6-of-6 vs. Eastern Kentucky in the NCAA first round and again vs. No. 4/2 North Carolina in the Sweet Sixteen. Westerberg already ranks sixth on the ASU career list for free throw percentage at 79.4 percent (135-170).
Loney Sets Career Three-Point Marks With 58 three-pointers in 2004-05, senior Kylan Loney became ASU's career-leading three-point shooter, draining 161 three-pointers in her four years in Tempe. The 2004 first-team All-Pac-10 selection set the ASU career mark with a pair of treys Jan. 26 at Arizona, passing Crystal Cobb who had 134 from 1989-94. Fellow senior Betsy Boardman finished third on the ASU career list with 133 three-pointers made, while Loney also set ASU's career attempts mark with 455.
This season, Loney shot 36.7 percent from three-point land (58-158), which ranked fifth in the Pac-10, while her 1.71 treys per game were fourth in the league. With 58 three-pointers made this season, she finished second on the ASU single-season charts, just two shy of the school-record 60 that Amanda Levens had in 2000-01. Loney turned in three of the top nine efforts on that list in her career.
Loney finished third on the team and 20th in the Pac-10 in scoring at 9.8 points per game. She led the team in scoring in the Sun Devils' three NCAA Tournament games with an average of 14.3 points per game, including 20 vs. then No. 11/13 Notre Dame and 18 vs. No. 4/2 North Carolina. In ASU's Dec. 7 upset of then No. 11/14 Georgia, Loney tied her career bests with five three-pointers and nine three-point attempts and was named the U.S. Bank Pac-10 Player of the Week for the second time in her career.
Loney knocked down two of more three-pointers in 17 games in 2004-05, including 11 with at least three treys. In the three NCAA Tournament games, she shot 53.8 percent from beyond the arc (7-13) and had three treys against both Notre Dame and North Carolina.
ASU Single-Season Three-Pointers Made
1. 60 Amanda Levens 2000-01
2. 58 Kylan Loney 2004-05
3. 57 Amanda Levens 2001-02
4. 56 Crystal Cobb 1990-91
5. 52 Ryneldi Becenti 1992-93
6. 49 Crystal Cobb 1991-92
7. 47 Molly Tuter 1996-97
8. 45 Kylan Loney 2003-04
9. 44 Kylan Loney 2002-03
44 Stephanie Freeman 1997-98
Aubree's Antics Sophomore forward Aubree Johnson kicked her game up a notch over the last month of the season, averaging 9.4 points and 6.8 rebounds over the last nine games, including the first double-double of her career with 12 points and 10 rebounds in ASU's NCAA Sweet Sixteen game vs. then No. 4/2 North Carolina. Johnson led the team and ranked 17th in the Pac-10 in rebounding with 5.1 boards per game and was fifth on the squad with 6.1 points per contest. She paced the Sun Devils in rebounding in nine games this season, including each of the last four games of the year (9.0 rpg in that stretch).
Johnson scored a career-best 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting in ASU's Jan. 24 win over Washington and matched that career mark with 14 points in ASU's Pac-10 Tournament semifinal victory over Oregon on March 6. She played one of ASU's finest minutes of the season in that game vs. the Ducks, scoring six points, including the go-ahead leaning jumper, and grabbing the game-clinching steal in the final 47 seconds of that game. She followed that effort up with 12 rebounds, including seven offensive boards (both career highs), to go along with six points in ASU's Pac-10 Championship game loss to then No. 1/2 Stanford. In the NCAA Tournament, Johnson averaged 11.3 points and 8.0 rebounds, up from her season marks of 6.1 ppg and 5.1 rpg.
Keeping Up with Kovesdy Junior forward Kristen Kovesdy led the Pac-10 in field goal percentage, shooting 61.3 percent from the field (168-274), including a perfect 7-of-7 night Feb. 26 against Washington and 9-of-11 efforts Dec. 4 vs. Gonzaga and again in ASU's NCAA first-round win over Eastern Kentucky.
At 61.3 percent for the year, Kovesdy broke ASU's single-season shooting mark, previously held by Monique Ambers who shot 58.8 percent from the field in 1992-93 (142-243). She has also moved into first on the ASU career field goal percentage chart at 56.6 percent (372-657), just ahead of Melody Johnson who shot 56.2 percent from 2000-02 (349-621).
Kovesdy finished second on the team and 12th in the Pac-10 in scoring at 11.2 points per game this season, just two points behind sophomore Emily Westerberg (11.3 ppg). Kovesdy ended the season on a tear, shooting 67.1 percent from the field in the last eight games (49-73) and averaging 12.8 points per game in that stretch (102).
Kovesdy paced the Sun Devils in scoring in a team-best 12 games and finished first on the squad with 21 games in double figures for scoring. She turned in a season-high 21 points in ASU's win against Gonzaga in the championship game of the Wells Fargo Holiday Classic on Dec. 4 and again on Feb. 3 at Cal. Kovesdy led the Sun Devils with 19 points and seven rebounds in their quarterfinal win over UCLA in the Pac-10 Tournament, knocking down 9-of-13 field goal attempts, and added 18 in ASU's March 19 win over Eastern Kentucky in the NCAA Tournament.
Bench Production The Sun Devil bench outscored its last six opponents 99-42, including a 20-0 advantage over then No. 11/13 Notre Dame in ASU's NCAA second-round victory. ASU got 22.9 points per game from its reserves in the last 11 contests of the year and outscored its opponents 243-96 in that stretch. On the season, ASU finished with an 18-5 record when outscoring its opponent's bench.
Junior forward Amy Denson was the team's leading scorer and rebounder off the bench, turning in 6.6 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. Denson had two of her best games on ASU's February trip to the state of Oregon, turning in 16 points and 10 rebounds vs. Oregon and a career-best 18 points on 6-of-8 shooting two nights later vs. Oregon State. She turned in one of her most complete games of the year vs. UCLA in the Pac-10 Tournament with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds and added 11 points and eight rebounds in the NCAA second round vs. the Fighting Irish.
1,000-Point & 500-Rebound Clubs With 13 points Jan. 20 against Oregon State, senior Betsy Boardman became the 14th Sun Devil in school history to join the 1,000-point club. The fifth-year senior, who came back from two ACL tears (one in each knee), finished with 1,065 career points, which ranked 10th all time at ASU. Boardman played in 125 career games with 95 starts and averaged 8.5 points per game in her ASU career.
Senior Carrie Buckner also joined an elite group of Sun Devils who pulled down 500 career rebounds. At just 5-9, Buckner grabbed 573 boards in her four years in Tempe, which is sixth all time in the ASU record books.
Road Warriors The Sun Devils turned in a 12-8 mark away from home in 2004-05, including an upset at No. 11/14 Georgia on Dec. 7 and a Jan. 14 victory at No. 19/19 UCLA. ASU went 5-7 in away games and 7-1 in neutral-site contests, playing eight of its first 12 games of the year and four of its first seven Pac-10 games away from home. ASU finished with a 4-5 Pac-10 road mark, surpassing the three league road wins it had in 2003-04. This year, ASU won at Washington State, UCLA, California and Oregon State.
Attendance Records With 8,927 fans in attendance at the team's Dec. 21 upset of three-time NCAA champion Connecticut, ASU broke the school single-game women's basketball attendance mark for Wells Fargo Arena. The Sun Devils also saw the second-largest crowd at the venue when the team drew 8,211 for the NCAA Sweet Sixteen contest vs. North Carolina
ASU set its school single-game attendance record for all games on Dec. 27, 2000 when 16,782 fans watched the team play Tennessee at Bank One Ballpark in the AstraZeneca Hoops for the Cure Classic. Prior to ASU's Dec. 21 victory over UConn, the biggest crowd to see a women's basketball game at Wells Fargo Arena had come on Dec. 8, 2002 with 7,274 fans at the Notre Dame game in the AstraZeneca Hoops for the Cure Classic II.
With the top two crowds in school history at Wells Fargo Arena, ASU averaged a school-record 2,842 fans per home game in 2004-05, which ranked in the top 50 nationally. The 2000-01 Pac-10 co-championship squad held the previous mark with 2,384 fans per home game.
Top All-Time WBB Crowds at Wells Fargo Arena
1. 8,927 vs. UConn Dec. 21, 2004
2. 8,213 vs. North Carolina March 26, 2005 (NCAA Sweet Sixteen)
3. 7,274 vs. Notre Dame Dec. 7, 2002 (Hoops for the Cure Classic II)
4. 5,379 vs. Arizona Jan. 27, 2001
5. 5,271 vs. Arizona Feb. 26, 2000
Sun Devil Quick Hits
... ASU averaged 76.3 points per game its three NCAA Tournament games, up from a season average of 63.7 points per contest. The Sun Devils also shot 48.6 percent from the field (86-177) in the three games, up from 42.5 percent on the season.
... The Sun Devils scored 87 points in their NCAA first-round win over Eastern Kentucky, which marked the second highest offensive output of the season, trailing just a 102-30 victory over Prairie View A&M on Nov. 27.
... Senior Carrie Buckner led the team and ranked fifth in the Pac-10 with 2.3 steals per game. She turned in a season-high five steals four times this year, including ASU's NCAA second-round game vs. No. 11/13 Notre Dame. With 233 steals in her four years in Tempe, Buckner finished second in the ASU career record book.
... ASU turned in a 13-0 record when holding teams to 50 points or less in 2004-05, while head coach Charli Turner Thorne is 37-2 in her nine years at ASU when the Sun Devils hold teams to 50 or fewer points.
... ASU finished 10-1 when scoring 70 points or more this year, including a 2-1 mark in the NCAA Tournament. The Sun Devils held an 18-1 record when scoring 60 points or more and were 20-2 when holding teams to 59 points or less.
... ASU went 20-1 when leading at halftime this season. The team lost its only game when leading at the half Jan. 26 at Arizona. The Sun Devils led 27-23 at halftime in Tucson but were outscored 33-22 in the second half in the 56-49 loss.