WHAT: 2015 ASU Classic featuring No. 17/19 Arizona State (3-2), VCU (5-1), Columbia (5-1) and Toledo (0-6).
WHEN/WHERE: Saturday and Sunday at Wells Fargo Arena (see schedule below)
Saturday Schedule – Click here to purchase tickets
Game 1 – ASU vs. VCU – 2 p.m.
Game 2 – Columbia vs. Toledo (30 minutes after game ASU vs. VCU)
Sunday Schedule – Click here to purchase tickets
Game 1 – VCU vs. Columbia/Toledo – noon
Game 2 – ASU vs. Columbia/Toledo – 2:30 p.m.
LIVE STREAM: There will be a live stream of all four games available at the following link: http://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university.
RADIO: Sun Devil WBB’s radio partner on the Sun Devil Sports Radio Network, presented by MidFirst, is NBC Sports Radio AM 1060. Pre-game coverage will begin 30 minutes prior to game time. Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona’s 2010 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 12th season as the voice of ASU women’s basketball. He will be joined by former Sun Devil head coach Maura McHugh.
UP NEXT
After playing its last four games on the road, the No. 17/19 Arizona State women’s basketball team returns to Wells Fargo Arena this weekend to host the annual ASU Classic featuring VCU (5-1), Columbia (5-1) and Toledo (0-6).
NOTES FROM LAST WEEK
• ASU went 2-1 at the Rainbow Wahine Showdown hosted by the University of Hawaii. In the first of three games in three days, the Sun Devils came within a possession of knocking off second-ranked South Carolina, before falling 60-58 as the Gamecocks hit two free throws with six-tenths of a second remaining to claim the win. ASU would bounce back with decisive wins in each of its next two games, defeating Hawaii 75-49 and CSU Bakersfield 60-47.
• Senior guard Katie Hempen (12.0 ppg, 13-26 FGs, 2.7 rpg, 2.0 apg) and junior center Quinn Dornstauder (10.3 ppg, 12-23 FGs, 7-8 FTs, 4.0 rpg) were both named to the Rainbow Wahine Showdown All-Tournament Team.
• Because of injuries they sustained, starting forwards Kelsey Moos (last 11-plus minutes of the game) and Sophie Brunner (last 4:27 of the game) were not available for the Sun Devils down the stretch of their contest vs. No. 2 South Carolina. Both players would also miss ASU’s games vs. Hawaii and Bakersfield.
• All four of ASU’s freshmen – G Sabrina Haines (24 points, 8-15 FGs, 9 rebounds), G Armani Hawkins (5 points, 2-4 FGs), F Kianna Ibis (6 points, 9 rebounds), C Charnea Johnson-Chapman (11 points, 5-8 FGs, 5 rebounds) – played and contributed in last week’s games.
• ASU shot 44 percent in the three games while allowing the opposition to make only 36 percent of its shots and only 24 percent of its 3-pointers (6-24).
• ASU had only six turnovers in its win at Hawaii and averaged only 13 in the three games.
SERIES HISTORY
VCU: First meeting. Columbia: Would be the first meeting. Toledo: ASU won only meeting 77-67 on Dec. 20, 1991 in Tempe.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• ASU returns nine players, including four starters – senior guards Katie Hempen and Elisha Davis and junior posts Sophie Brunner and Kelsey Moos – from last year’s team that finished with 29 wins (second most in team history) and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Brunner (Pan American Games – silver medal) and Hempen (World University Games – gold medal) both earned medals in July while competing for USA Basketball. Also earning a medal was junior center Quinn Dornstauder (Canada), who brought back a silver medal from the World University Games.
• ASU’s two losses – vs. current No. 11 Kentucky (68-64 in OT on Nov. 15) and vs. current No. 2 South Carolina (60-58 on Nov. 27 in Hawaii) – have come by a combined six points to two of the nation’s top 11 teams.
• ASU is 25-4 in non-conference games the last three seasons.
• ASU has allowed 14 or fewer points in quarter 11 times this season.
• ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne, who is in her 19th season at ASU, needs three more wins to reach 400 for her career. Turner Thorne has 357 wins at ASU and 40 at Northern Arizona where she started her head coaching career.
• Currently sixth on ASU’s all-time list for career 3-pointers (130), senior guard Katie Hempen (started 47 of 73 games at ASU/40 straight) needs two triples to pass Briann January (131/2006-09) for fifth place. She needs four to pass Betsy Boardman (133/2000-05) for fourth place, five to pass Crystal Cobb (134/1989-94 for third place and eight to pass Jill Noe (137/2003-08) for second place. The all-time leader in 3-pointers at ASU is Kylan Loney (2001-05), who had 161.
• ASU’s leading scorer off the bench each of the last two seasons, junior center Quinn Dornstauder is currently tied with Katie Hempen for the team lead in scoring (12.0 ppg). Dornstauder’s 21 points at SMU (Nov. 21) are the most scored by a Sun Devil this season.
• Senior guard Elisha Davis (started 44 of 104 career games/42 straight) has led team in assists each of the last two seasons. She had 11 assists and only two turnovers in ASU’s three contests in Hawaii last week.
• Senior forward Eliza Normen, who redshirted due to injury as a freshman in 2011-12, returns for her fifth year. A veteran of 107 games, Normen started two games last week (fifth and sixth starts of her career) after the Sun Devils lost starting forwards Sophie Brunner and Kelsey Moos.
• For the second consecutive season the Sun Devils’ roster includes two players who are sisters. Last season it was Peace and Promise Amukamara. This year it will be Arnecia (senior guard) and younger sister Armani (freshman guard) Hawkins. Peace, who transferred to ASU from Mesa Community College in 2014, returns for her senior season. Peace played in every game and finished 3rd on the team in assists (2.1 apg). Arnecia played in every game last season and led the team in 3-point FG pct. (41.5) and finished 3rd in 3-pointers (17). Her shooting percentage of 42.9 last season was nearly 12 percentage points higher than her career FG percentage (31.1) coming into the season. Arnecia was inserted into the starting lineup for two games last weekend (giving ASU three guards in the starting lineup) after the team lost starting forwards Sophie Brunner and Kelsey Moos vs. South Carolina. Arnecia has now started five games in her 104-game career.
• Sophomore guard Tia Kanoa returns after having her freshman season cut short by a knee injury.
• Armani Hawkins and fellow freshman guard Sabrina Haines are reunited as teammates at ASU. The two played together in high school freshman and sophomore year at Mesa Mountain View before Haines transferred to Desert Vista in Phoenix her final two years. Both Haines and Hawkins were named to The Arizona Republic’s All-Arizona girls basketball team.
• Freshman post Charnea Johnson-Chapman earned first-team All-CIF honors for Canyon Springs (Moreno Valley, Calif.) as a senior after averaging 16.9 points while connecting on 55 percent of her field goal attempts.
• Freshman forward Kianna Ibis earned All-State honors three times while playing for Benson High School in Omaha, Neb. Her senior season was cut short after 17 games due to an ACL injury. At the time of the injury, Ibis had been averaging 21.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 2.2 steals and 1.7 blocks.
CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE AWAITS 2015-16 SUN DEVILS
The Arizona State University women’s basketball team is picking up right where it left off last March – competing against the nation’s best teams. Five schools that qualified for last year’s NCAA Tournament and a sixth that advanced to the second round of the WNIT comprise half of the Sun Devils’ 2015-16 non-conference schedule.
“Our program has set a standard over the years of playing a challenging non-conference schedule that not only gets us prepared for Pac-12 play, but also gives our fans the opportunity to see the kind of top-level, non-conference matchups that often occur in the month of March,” said Turner Thorne, who will be entering her 19th season. “In one year we have gone from a being young team to a veteran squad that features great experience and a lot of core returners and so I think this will be the perfect schedule for them.”
The Sun Devils have gone a combined 25-4 in regular season, non-conference games since the start of the 2013-14 season.
Here are highlights and notes about Sun Devils’ non-conference slate…
• ASU opened its 2015-16 season against Kentucky and dropped a 68-64 decision in overtime. The Wildcats entered this season having qualified for each of the last six NCAA Tournaments, including a trio of Elite Eight appearances. The game was the first ever meeting between the two teams. As of Nov. 24, Kentucky remains unbeaten (4-0) and is ranked No. 12 in the AP poll.
• The Sun Devils spent Thanksgiving weekend in Hawaii where it played three games. ASU will open the tournament against 2015 Final Four participant South Carolina, who went 34-3 last season. The last of their three losses came against Notre Dame in the NCAA National semifinals. The Sun Devils came one win short of meeting South Carolina last season. A victory over Florida State in the Sweet 16 would have propelled ASU into an Elite Eight matchup against the Gamecocks in the Greensboro Regional final. The Sun Devils came within a possession of upsetting the Gamecocks, falling 60-58 (Nov. 27) as South Carolina hit two free throws with six-tenths of second remaining to claim the win.
• Speaking of Florida State, the Sun Devils and Seminoles will have a rematch of last season’s Sweet 16 game when they meet in Tempe on Mon., Dec. 21. The contest between the two teams last March, won by Florida State 66-65, provided fans with one of the NCAA Tournament’s most exciting games as the Sun Devils nearly overcame a six-point deficit in the final two minutes. The Seminoles would finish the season 32-5 after coming up short against South Carolina in the ensuing Elite Eight contest. ASU’s contest against Florida State will be preceded by a home game vs. Marquette on Sat., Dec. 19.
• The Sun Devils will have a two-game East Coast swing that will start on Dec. 12 when they take on Syracuse. This will be the second time in three seasons that the Sun Devils and Orange will battle on the hardwood. In 2013 the Sun Devils came away with a 63-60 win at home in a game that was not decided until the final seconds. Syracuse made its third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance last season where it advanced to the second round and finished with a record of 22-10. The Sun Devils will conclude the road trip on Dec. 14 at Hartford.
• ASU will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule when it hosts CSUN on Mon., Dec. 28. The Matadors finished 23-10 last season and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive year.
• This weekend’s annual ASU Classic will feature VCU, Columbia and Toledo (advanced to the second round of the 2015 WNIT). ASU will play VCU in the first round.
• ASU was on the road for four of its five games in November, however will be home for five of its seven games in December, including its last three before Pac-12 play begins.
2014-15 RECAP
• ASU made its 13th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament (its 10th under head coach Charli Turner Thorne) and earned a No. 3 seed in the Greensboro Regional (tied highest NCAA seed in school history)... ASU got off to its best start (18-1) and conference start (7-0) in school history. In addition, ASU reached 20 wins faster than any team in program history (22 games)... ASU’s 14-game winning streak (started on Nov. 30 and ended on Jan. 25) was its second longest in school history. Only the 2008-09 team won more games in succession (15)… Tied the 2006-07 squad for the best road record in school history (10-1)… ASU’s two wins over Stanford during the regular season represented the first time a conference school swept Stanford during the regular season since 1988... Finished among the nation’s Top 30 teams in 3-Point Field Goal Percentage Defense (4th/25.4), Scoring Defense (21st/55.9 ppg), 3-Point Field Goal Percentage (22nd/36.1), Field Goal Percentage (27th/44.0) and Scoring Margin (27th/+11.0... Set the school record for fewest turnovers per game (14.3). Eclipsed the previous record (16.4 by the 2011-12 team) by more than two turnovers per game... Gave up nearly 10 fewer points per game (9.8) in 2014-15 (55.9) compared to the 2013-14 team (65.7).
PRESEASON NOTES
• ASU started the season ranked 15th in both the AP media poll and the USA Today Coaches’ poll.
• ASU was picked to finish third in the Pac-12 by the league’s coaches (1. Oregon State 2. Stanford 3. ASU) and second by the media who cover the league (1. Oregon State 2. ASU). Junior forward Sophie Brunner was selected to the media’s preseason All-Pac-12 team.
CHARLI TURNER THORNE HAS SUN DEVIL WBB AMONG NATION’S ELITE
Arizona State head women’s basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Women’s College Coach of the Year in 2015 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.
The all-time winningest coach in program history and No. 2 in the Pac-12 in career wins (357), 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.
In 2013-14, Turner Thorne 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) the previous season 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.
On Jan. 25, 2013, Turner Thorne became the third Pac-12 coach to reach 300 victories following ASU’s 60-53 win over USC, a game in which ASU came back from 16 down in the second half.
A closer look at Turner Thorne’s path to 300 puts into perspective the incredible 180-degree turnaround Sun Devil women’s basketball has undergone since she came to ASU. To reach 150 wins it took Turner Thorne 272 games (150-122 - .551) as she rebuilt a 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. It would take her 215 games to get 150 more wins. Since picking up her 150th win at ASU, Turner Thorne is 207-93 (.690).
Last season, Turner Thorne led the Sun Devils to the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time in her ASU tenure.
SUN DEVIL WBB EARNS NO. 7 RANKING IN WBCA ACADEMIC TOP 25
The Arizona State University women’s basketball team was among the top 10 women’s basketball programs in the classroom in 2014-15
The Sun Devil women’s basketball team’s combined team GPA of 3.558 was No. 7 among NCAA Division I institutions, according to the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association’s (WBCA) 2015 Academic Team Honor Rolls, announced this past July. ASU was one of only seven schools among the WBCA’s Top 25 that also participated in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. On the court, the Sun Devils recorded the best finish of schools appearing in the WBCA’s Top 25 after advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. Since the 1996-97 season (Charli Turner Thorne’s first season at ASU) ASU leads the Pac-12 in the number of first-team All-Academic conference awards (17) and the combined number of first- and second-team All-Academic conference awards (37).
SUN DEVIL WBB SIGNS TOP 10 CLASS FOR NEXT SEASON
On Nov. 11 Arizona State University head women’s basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne announced the signing of five student-athletes – Sydney Goodson, Reili Richardson, Jamie Ruden, Kiara Russell and Robbi Ryan – whose outstanding ability, talent and potential for immediate impact have the signing class ranked among the top 10 in the country by espnW HoopGurlz.
Goodson, a 5-8 guard, will be joining the Sun Devils from Liberty Christian School in Argyle, Texas, where she has already led her team to a pair of TAPPS Class 5A state title game appearances. After a runner-up finish in 2013, the Lady Warriors came away with the title in 2015 as Goodson averaged 12.5 points, 3.4 assists and 2.5 steals on her way to earning First-Team All-State honors and being named the District’s Offensive Player of the Year.
Richardson will be coming to ASU from Brea Olinda High School in Brea, California. The 5-9 guard averaged 17.4 points as a junior while earning numerous awards, including MaxPreps 2014-15 California All-State Division 3 Second-Team recognition, Southern Section All-Open Division Team and Orange County Register All-County First-Team honors.
A 6-1 post, who has incredible versatility, Ruden has averaged 20 or more points each of the last three seasons for John Marshall High School (Rochester, Minnesota). Ruden is coming off a junior campaign in which she earned AP First-Team All-State and Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association Class 4A All-State recognition after averaging 23 points, eight rebounds and two assists per game in leading John Marshall to a 27-2 record and a state runner-up finish.
Also coming to ASU from the North Star State is Russell, a 5-8 guard out of Osseo High School in Osseo, Minnesota. Like Ruden, Russell also earned 2015 Minnesota Girls Basketball Coaches Association Class 4A All-State honors after a spectacular junior campaign in which she averaged 23.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 3.8 steals.
A 5-9 guard, Ryan enters the 2015-16 season as the reigning Gatorade Player of the Year in the state of Wyoming, where she has enjoyed a prolific career at Sheridan High School (Sheridan, Wyoming). Named to the All-State team in each of her first three seasons, Ryan has twice been invited to the U17 Olympic trials for women’s basketball and has also competed in the Chicago Nike National Invitation Tournament.