WHAT: No. 9 Arizona State (25-4, 16-1 Pac-12) at No. 14 UCLA (21-7, 13-4 Pac-12)
WHEN: Sunday at 11 a.m. PT/Noon MT
WHERE: Pauley Pavilion, Los Angeles
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Networks
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 (coverage begins 11:30 a.m. MT)
UP NEXT
The ninth-ranked Arizona State women’s basketball team will be seeking its first undisputed regular season Pac-12 title on Sunday (11 a.m. PT/noon MT) when it plays at No. 14 UCLA.
Winners of their last seven games, the Sun Devils clinched at least a share of the Pac-12 regular season title by virtue of their 50-45 win over USC coupled with seventh-ranked Oregon State’s loss at No. 13 Stanford on Friday night.
The Sun Devils (25-4, 16-1 Pac-12) enter Sunday’s regular season finale with a one-game lead over the Beavers (24-4, 15-2). In addition to winning their first outright league title, a win on Sunday would also give the Sun Devils the top seed in next week’s Pac-12 Tournament in Seattle.
Sunday’s game at UCLA (21-7, 13-4 Pac-12) is a rematch of a contest won by the Sun Devils, 65-61, on Feb. 5 in Tempe. Katie Hempen knocked down four 3-pointers and scored a season-high 20 points in the win. The Sun Devils had three other players finish with 10 points each: Elisha Davis (seven assists, zero turnovers, eight points in the fourth quarter), Arnecia Hawkins (four assists, three rebounds) and Quinn Dornstauder (eight rebounds).
The Sun Devils earned the opportunity to play for their first outright league title after coming through with a hard-fought win at USC on Friday. Hempen scored a team-high 11 points to lead the Sun Devils. On a night that saw ASU post its fewest points in a quarter this season (four in the first quarter), it took nothing short of an all-out team effort to come away with the win. Nine players scored for the Sun Devils, who were able to overcome 23 turnovers and a 1-of-8 performance from beyond the arc. After shooting 27 percent in the first half, the Sun Devils righted the ship in the second half connecting on 54 percent of their attempts. Davis added eight points while a pair of freshmen – Kianna Ibis (tied career high with eight points) and Sabrina Haines (seven points) – combined for 15 points.
The Sun Devils have claimed conference hardware two other times: In 2001 they shared the regular season league crown with Stanford and Washington (all three teams finished 12-6 in the Pac-10 standings). ASU also claimed the inaugural Pac-10 Tournament championship in 2002
Hempen is leading ASU in scoring average (12.7 ppg) during its current winning streak. She has connected on 53 percent of her FGs (33-62), including 51 percent of her 3FGs (18-34) during that stretch. Brunner has connected on 62 percent of her FGs (35-54) while averaging 10.8 points and 8.3 rebounds in ASU’s last eight games.
TELEVISION/RADIO
Sunday’s game at USC can be seen live on Pac-12 Networks. Anne Marie Anderson (play by play) and Rosalyn Gold-Onwude (analyst) will call the action.
The game can also be heard on Sun Devil WBB’s radio partner on the Sun Devil Sports Radio Network presented by MidFirst, NBC Sports Radio AM 1060. Coverage will begin at 11:30 a.m. in the Valley. 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.
SERIES NOTES VS. UCLA
• UCLA has won 49 of the 76 all-time meetings. ASU’s 59-57 win in 2014 in Tempe snapped UCLA’s eight-game winning streak in the series. The Sun Devils captured their second consecutive win over the Bruins last season with a 68-56 win in Los Angeles. Hempen scored 16 of her game-high 19 points in the second half and dished out a season-high eights assists in the win. Hempen also led ASU with a season-high 20 points in ASU’s win over UCLA earlier this month.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• ASU is 31-4 in its last 35 Pac-12 games going back to last season. Prior to its loss at Oregon State on Feb. 1, ASU’s 9-0 record in Pac-12 play was its best conference start in program history (surpassed last season’s 7-0 start). The Sun Devils are currently in the midst of their third consecutive 20-win season and the program’s 12th since the 2000-01 season. Of the 14 previous 20-win seasons the Sun Devils have had in program history, 10 have come under the direction of head coach Charli Turner Thorne.
• ASU is 21-2 in its last 23 road games (not including neutral site games) going back to 2014-15. This year’s squad set a new program record with 11 road wins (11-1), surpassing the 2006-07 and 2014-15 squads that both went 10-1.
• As of Feb. 27, ASU is No. 6 in the NCAA RPI. The Sun Devils are one of seven Pac-12 teams among the top 50: ASU: 6, Stanford: 8, Oregon State: 9, UCLA: 10, Washington: 28 and USC: 42. On Feb. 1 the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Championship Sport Committee unveiled the first of three February top-10 rankings in seed order. The Sun Devils were No. 7 on the initial list (Feb. 1) and No. 8 on Feb. 15.
• As of Feb. 27, ASU ranks in the top third of the Pac-12 in rebounding defense (1st/31.5 rpg), scoring defense (2nd/53.0 ppg/13th in the nation), turnover margin (2nd/+3.4), offensive rebounds (2nd/13.6 rpg), rebounding margin (3rd/+5.4), 3-point FG pct. (4th/34.0),3-point FG pct. defense (4th/29.5), FT pct. (4th/71.8), assists (4th/14.8 apg) and steals (4th/9.1 spg).
• ASU has held the opposition to a single-digit point total in a quarter 33 times this season times this season and 25 or fewer points in a half 24 times. The six points Hartford scored in the first half against ASU on Dec. 14 represented the fewest points ASU has ever allowed in a half. The 31 points Stanford scored against ASU (Jan, 4) represented the Cardinal’s lowest single-game point total in school history.
• On average the Sun Devils are scoring 17.4 points per game off turnovers by the opposition. They have scored 20 or more points off turnovers 10 times.
• Seven different Sun Devils have led or tied for the team lead in scoring this season: Quinn Dornstauder (8x), Sophie Brunner (7x), Katie Hempen (7x), Arnecia Hawkins (6x), Kelsey Moos (2x), Elisha Davis (1x) and Sabrina Haines (1x).
• ASU has had 15 or fewer turnovers 16 times this season. Last season the Sun Devils set the school record for fewest turnover per game (14.3).
• ASU has won the battle of the boards in 22 of 29 games.
• Both of ASU’s starting forwards – Kelsey Moos and Sophie Brunner were injured in the second half of ASU’s 60-58 loss vs. South Carolina in Hawaii on Nov. 27. Moos would go on to miss four games (returned at Syracuse on Dec. 12) and Brunner missed six games (returned vs. Marquette on Dec. 19). Moos also missed ASU’s contest vs. CSUN on Dec. 28. Brunner, who was named espnW’s National Player of the Week on Jan. 10, currently leads the team in scoring (10.7 ppg), rebounds (7.1 rpg), FG pct (54.1) and steals (1.8 spg) and is 3rd in assists (1.7 apg). Moos is second in rebounding (6.2 rpg) & FG pct. (44.9) and is third in steals (1.5 spg).
• On Feb. 5, senior Katie Hempen (currently with 177 3-pointers) passed Kylan Loney (161 - 2002-05) as ASU’s all-time leader in career 3-pointers. Hempen (started 71 of 97 games at ASU/64 straight starts) tied for second on the team in scoring (9.3 ppg) and has connected on 44.2 percent of her 3-pointers this season (3rd in the Pac-12). Hempen is shooting 51 percent from long range in her last seven games (18-35).
• Senior guard Elisha Davis (started 68/128 career games/66 straight starts) is No. 2 on ASU’s all-time list for career assists (461). Current Indiana Fever guard Briann January (2006-09) is ASU’s all-time assists leader (534). Last month Davis was named one of 30 candidates for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award® in women’s basketball.
• ASU’s leading scorer off the bench last season, starting junior center Quinn Dornstauder is currently fourth on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg). She scored a career-high 25 points vs. Washington (Feb. 21), the highest point total by a Sun Devil this season. On Feb. 11, Dornstauder was named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District 8 Women’s Basketball Team and is now in consideration for Academic All-America honors.
• With the earlier injuries to Brunner and Moos, senior guard Arnecia Hawkins stepped up to help fill the offensive void. During an earlier 10-game stretch (eight starts), Hawkins led ASU in scoring average (12.1 ppg) while connecting on 52 percent of her shots. Hawkins was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale Women’s National Player of the Week and Pac-12 Player of the Week for her performance in ASU’s 68-56 upset of No. 10 Florida State (Dec. 21) as she scored a career-high 23 points (13 in the fourth quarter) while making all seven of her field goal attempts (including a trio of 3-ptrs). All 13 of her double-figure scoring games have come in ASU’s last 24 games.
• Freshman guard Sabrina Haines leads ASU’s first-year players in scoring (5.5 ppg) and leads the team in FT percentage (86.0). She has scored in double figures four times, including a career-high 19 points in ASU’s win at Washington State (Jan. 10).
• Freshman forward Kianna Ibis has connected on 69 percent of her shots (11-16) in ASU’s last five games. She has scored a career-high eight points twice in that span.
DOMINANT DEVIL DEFENSE
One of the hallmarks of the Sun Devils women’s basketball team’s success during Charli Turner Thorne’s tenure at ASU has been great defense. Whether its offense is firing on all cylinders or not, ASU’s outstanding defense always gives it a shot to come out on top. Through 29 games, this year’s squad has continued the tradition of keeping the opposition’s offense in check. On average, opposing teams have scored 17.2 points under their scoring average when facing ASU. In fact, only one opponent (Marquette), scored more points than what it averaged coming into its game vs. ASU. Some of the Devils’ most impressive defensive performances this season include...
• Held (then) second-ranked South Carolina 17.4 points below its scoring average.
• Set the school record for fewest points allowed in a half (6) at Hartford.
• Florida State scored 21.7 points below its average and tied its lowest output in a quarter (9 points) against ASU.
• Held Stanford to its fewest points in school history (31) in 49-31 win.
• Turned a 27-20 halftime deficit at Oregon (Jan. 29) into a 46-33 lead after outscoring the Ducks 26-6 in the third quarter.
Other defensive notes...
• The opposition has shot below 30 percent from 3-point range 16 times.
• ASU has held the opposition to a single-digit point total in a quarter 33 times this season times this season and 25 or fewer points in a half 24 times.
• ASU has forced 20 or more turnovers 11 times. ASU forced a season-high 27 turnovers vs. Arizona (Jan. 22).
• Marquette (80), Washington (61), Oregon State (67) and UCLA (61) are ASU’s only opponents that have scored more than 60 points in regulation (Kentucky & Stanford both went over 60 points in overtime).
IN CASE YOU ARE JUST JOINING US
• 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.
• This season ASU has set the school record for most road wins (11) and tied the record most consecutive wins (15). ASU’s 16 Pac-12 wins this season are tied for the most in school history (2006-07 team also won 16).
• The Sun Devils are 43-5 (89.6) at home going back to the 2013-14 season.
• ASU started the season ranked 15th in both the AP media poll and the USA Today Coaches’ poll. After seven games and a 4-3 record, the Sun Devils were ranked as low as No. 24 on Dec. 7. A 10-game winning streak eventually propelled them into the AP Top 10 on Jan. 11 (No. 10). On Jan. 18 (12 straight wins) they moved up to No. 8 tying the highest AP ranking in program history. On Feb. 8 they fell one spot to No. 9 after they lost at Oregon State.
• 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.
• ASU went unbeaten for nearly two months (Dec. 6 - Feb. 1) as it tied the school record for consecutive wins (15) before falling at Oregon State, 67-44. ASU’s current seven-game winning streak represents the 24th time since 2001 that it has had a winning streak of five or more games. Included in those streaks are a 10-game winning streak in 2013-14, a 14-game winning streak last season and this season’s school-record-tying 15-game winning streak.
• On Dec. 14, 2015, ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne recorded her 400th career win following ASU’s 60-29 win at Hartford.
• Two of ASU’s four losses – vs. current No. 15 Kentucky (68-64 in OT onNov. 15) and vs. current No. 3 South Carolina (60-58 on Nov. 27 in Hawaii) – were by a combined six points.
• After finishing the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 9-3 record, ASU is 31-5 in non-conference games the last three seasons.
• On Dec. 12, 2015, the Sun Devils won at Syracuse 61-54 and ended the Orange’s 72-game non-conference home court winning streak.
• With its sweep of Stanford (49-31 in Tempe/63-61 - OT at Stanford) ASU became the first Pac-12 school to sweep the regular season series from Stanford in consecutive years.
• In the last three seasons the Sun Devils are 25-6 in games decided by five points or less and/or overtime.
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)… 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).
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 (379), 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, who recorded the 200th Pac-12 win of her career last weekend, 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.
Last season 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.
Under Turner Thorne’s leadership the program is ascending to even greater heights this season. In the month of January alone the Sun Devils posted the best conference start in school history (9-0), equalled the highest AP ranking in school history (No. 8) and matched the school record for consecutive wins (15).
On December 14, 2015, Turner Thorne added another milestone as she won her 400th career game (360 at ASU and 40 at Northern Arizona).
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. 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, 2015, 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.