WHEN: Friday at 4 p.m. MT
WHERE: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe, Ariz.
LIVE STREAM: http://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university
LIVE AUDIO: TuneIn.com
LIVE STATS: http://statbroadcast.com/events/statmonitr.php?gid=asu
PROMOTION: Friday's game is part of a University-wide Salute to Service taking place on ASU's Campus throughout Veterans Day weekend. The Sun Devils will proudly honor veterans and active members of the military throughout Friday's game. As part of a Salute to Service doubleheader, Sun Devil men's basketball will face Portland State at 7 p.m. Attend both games by purchasing your reserved tickets to the men's game starting at just $7. Click here to purchase! Any men's ticket grants general admission seating in the lower level of the women's game!
UP NEXT
The No. 18/16 Arizona State women's basketball team kicks off the 2016-17 season on Friday (4 p.m. MT) when it hosts Illinois State at Wells Fargo Arena.
This year's Sun Devil squad returns three senior starters – posts Sophie Brunner, Quinn Dornstauder and Kelsey Moos – from the 2015-16 team that captured a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, won 26 games (tied for third-highest win total in program history) and went on to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament, the highest placement in program history. In addition, 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year Charli Turner Thorne also welcomes a five-member freshman class – Sydney Goodson, Reili Richardson, Jamie Ruden, Kiara Russell and Robbi Ryan – that was ranked among the nation's top 10 signing classes when it was announced last fall, and Sara Hattis, a graduate post who will be eligible to play this season after transferring to ASU from the University of Texas in May.
Friday's game is part of a University-wide Salute to Service taking place on ASU's Campus throughout Veterans Day weekend. The Sun Devils will proudly honor veterans and active members of the military throughout Friday's game.
In celebration of last season's Pac-12 Championship, a banner ceremony will be held following the game.
On Sunday ASU will close out the opening weekend of play when it hosts San Jose State at 2 p.m. Sunday's game is the program's second annual #KeepTheBeat Game for Heart Health Awareness. Fans are invited to arrive at noon on Sunday for 'Taste of Tempe,' a free food-tasting event featuring heart healthy food that will take place in the arboretum outside Wells Fargo Arena. Then at 1 p.m. (one hour prior to the game) fans can make their way into Wells Fargo Arena for a Heart Health Expo that will offer various health screenings in addition to several organizations providing information about heart healthy living.
LIVE STREAM/LIVE AUDIO
Friday's game vs. Illinois State will be streamed at http://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university. The game can also be heard on the Sun Devil Athletics Tune-In Channel. Pre-game coverage begins at 3:30 p.m. Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona's 2010 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 13th season as the voice of ASU women's basketball. He will be joined by former Sun Devil head coach Maura McHugh.
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Sun Devil Athletics has also instituted a NEW Clear Bag Policy for all fans attending men's and women's basketball games at Wells Fargo Arena. The new policy was created to increase the security of fans and to enhance the game experience. Visit www.thesundevils.com/clearbag for more information on permissible bags and FAQs on the new policy.
SERIES NOTES VS. ILLINOIS STATE
ASU has won five of its six lifetime meetings vs. Illinois State. In the most recent meeting (Dec. 16, 2014), Quinn Dornstauder scored a (then) career-high 19 points, Promise Amukamara added 14 and Sophie Brunner gave her hometown fans plenty to cheer about as she scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds in ASU's 89-44 win over Illinois State.
The game was a homecoming for Illinois natives Brunner and Katie Hempen as more than 300 fans came out to cheer for them and the Sun Devils
SEASON OPENERS
The Sun Devils have been victorious in 15 of their last 18 season openers with the only blemishes during that span coming in a 75-60 setback at North Carolina in the 2007 State Farm Tip-Off Classic, a 61-49 decision at home against Texas Tech in 2013 and a 68-64 overtime loss to Kentucky last season.
SUN DEVIL WBB IN COSTA RICA
Over the summer the Sun Devil women's basketball did a six-day foreign tour of Costa Rica. Every four years the program is allowed to take a foreign tour to a destination where it plays games and partakes in a variety of team bonding activities in addition to volunteering time in the community.
The Sun Devils, who graduated five players from last year's team that won a share of the regular season Pac-12 title, won all four games during their stay in Costa Rica. From a basketball standpoint the trip was an invaluable experience for a relatively young team. While the Sun Devils return their entire starting frontcourt next season in the form of seniors Sophie Brunner, Quinn Dornstauder and Kelsey Moos, they are also adding seven new members.
Following its first official practice of the season last month, Charli Turner Thorne said that having the practices prior to the trip and the games in Costa Rica helped to smooth the transition with such a new team.
"Obviously the fact we got some summer practices in I think made it a lot less frantic," Turner Thorne said. "We had great energy and effort out there, but we are by no means peaking right now."
Turner Thorne said preseason practices are important are important for setting the tone for the upcoming season.
"This such an impactful time because once you get into the season your rest and recovery is so important," Turner Thorne said. "This is when you really lay your foundation and establish how you are going to play. You figure out who you are and try and get as good as you can because once you get into games you are never going to have this amount of quality reps and practice time."
SUN DEVIL WBB IS ONCE AGAIN 'KEEPING THE BEAT' FOR HEART HEALTH AWARENESS
In 2015 the Sun Devil Women's Basketball program launched 'Keep The Beat,' an awareness campaign designed to help people of all ages have a better understanding of what it means to live a heart-healthy lifestyle. The second annual #KeepTheBeat game will take place on Sunday, November 13 when the Sun Devil women's basketball team hosts San Jose State at 2 p.m. in Wells Fargo Arena. Pre-game festivities include a Taste of Tempe, a free food tasting event in which several Valley restaurants will be offering free samples of Heart Healthy food; and a Heart Heath Expo.
NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE NOTES
The Arizona State University women's basketball team will play five teams that qualified for the postseason last season during the non-conference portion of its 2016-17 schedule.
Included in this year's non-conference slate are contests against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams Maryland (back-to-back Big Ten Champions), St. Johns, Kentucky and Middle Tennessee. The Sun Devils could potentially play a fifth 2016 NCAA qualifier in the ASU Classic. ASU will open its annual home tournament against Boston and then the following day will face either Florida (2016 NCAA Tournament participant) or Long Beach State (2016 WNIT participant).
ASU will face Maryland and St. John's in back-to-back contests when it travels to Las Vegas for the South Point Shootout taking place Thanksgiving weekend.
The Sun Devils will also face a challenging road trip in December when they take on Kentucky and Middle Tennessee in consecutive games.
QUICK PLAYER NOTES
Sophie Brunner: A starter in 84 of 95 career games, in 2016 Brunner earned honorable mention recognition on the 2016 WBCA NCAA Division I Coaches' All-America Team, the first Sun Devil to earn all-America notice since Briann January in 2009...Will return as ASU's active leader in points (957), rebounds (678 - 3rd on ASU's all-time list), assists (126) and steals (138). Is also 2nd on ASU's all-time list for most rebounds (56) in the NCAA Tournament.
Quinn Dornstauder: Has played in 95 career games (26 starts) and is ASU's active leader in career blocks (91/5th on ASU's all-time list)...Moved into starting role in 2015-16 after coming off the bench her first two seasons and continued to be a strong offensive presence, accounting for 3 of ASU's 4 highest single-game point totals.
Kelsey Moos: Has started 89 of 91 career games and has been first (2014 - 6.6 rpg) or second (2015 - 5.4/2016 - 6.0) on the team in rebounds each of her first three seasons...Was also second on the team in field goal percentage in 2014 and 2015...Earned Pac-12 Defensive honorable mention recognition and was also named to the Pac-12's All-Academic first team for the second straight season last year... Earned her Communication degree in only 3 years (May 2016) and is currently pursuing Master's Degree in Liberal Studies.
Sara Hattis: Came to ASU this past May as a four-year transfer from the University of Texas in and will be eligible to play in 2016-17...An exceptionally talented athlete, Hattis was a member of both the Longhorn volleyball and women's basketball squads in 2012-13 and 2014-15 before committing to basketball on a year-round basis prior to the 2015-16 academic year...Hattis played in 51 games in her three seasons as a member of the Longhorn women's basketball team (joined the squad after the conclusion of volleyball season in 2012-13 and 2014-15).
Courtney Ekmark: Valley native who transferred to ASU in June 2016 after playing two seasons for UConn where she was part of two national championship teams...Per NCAA transfer rules, will have to sit out the 2016-17 season, but will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2017-18 season...In her three years playing for Phoenix St. Mary's, helped lead the Knights to an 87-3 record that included a 49-game winning streak, three straight Division I State Titles, a No. 1 ranking in the USA Today Super 25 in 2012 and a No. 2 ranking in 2013.
Sabrina Haines: Earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention honors in 2016 after she played in every game and led the team in FT percentage (86.7/39-45), was 2nd in 3-point FG pct. (31.9/15-47 ) and 4th in 3-pointers (15)...Posted season highs in scoring (19 points/5-7 FGs) and rebounds (6) in win at Washington State (Jan. 10). Scored 14 of her 19 points in the second half.
Charnea Johnson-Chapman: Expected to seeing more playing time this season after playing in 25 games as a freshman...Scored a season-high 8 points (4-4 FGs) in win at Hawaii (Nov. 28) and grabbed season-high 5 rebounds in win over CSUN (Dec. 28).
Kianna Ibis: Outstanding offensive talent who was slowed freshman year by knee injury suffered senior year of high school... Played in 31 games last season and connected on 59 percent (17-29) of her shots in the final 9 games of the season...Tied for the team lead with a career-high 14 points and knocked down her first career 3-pointer in Pac-12 quarterfinal vs. Cal (Mar. 4).
Armani Hawkins: Played played in 10 games as a freshman and logged a season-high 7 minutes 3x...Scored in 7 games and had a career-high 3 steals vs. CSUN (Dec. 28)... Played with sister, Arnecia, who was a senior on last year's team.
Reili Richardson: A 2016 graduate of Brea High School (Brea, Calif.), where she was a four-year member of the varsity squad and accumulated career totals of 1,731 points and 504 rebounds in 105 career games...In May 2016, participated in the USA Women's U18 National Team Trials.
Kiara Russell: A 2016 graduate of Osseo High School (Osseo, Minn), Russell was named a Ms. Minnesota Basketball finalist, a Gatorade Player of the year finalist and was named to the Star Tribune First Team...Was named to the AP's All-State Second Team as a senior and was selected to play in the Minnesota Girls Basketball All-Star Game.
Robbi Ryan: A 2016 graduate of Sheridan High School (Sheridan, Wyo.), Ryan was a four-time First Team All-State selection and two-time Gatorade Player of the Year for the State of Wyoming, who would go on to be named Ms. Wyoming Basketball 2016.
Sydney Goodson: A 2016 graduate of Liberty Christian School (Argyle, Texas), who was as one of key players in helping lead her Liberty High School team to back-to-back state titles in 2015-16...Was named the Denton Chronicle's Co-Offensive Player of the Year in 2016 after averaging 17.6 points, 3.7 assists and 2.9 steals per game.
Jamie Ruden: A 2016 graduate of John Marshall High School (Rochester, Minn.), Ruden was a two-time AP First-Team All-State honoree, member of the James Naismith All-American team and a finalist for Minnesota's Miss Basketball award who concluded her five-year varsity career (was member of varsity since eighth grade) as Rochester's all-time leading scorer, boy or girl, with 2,671 points while also pulling down for than 1,000 career rebounds.
NOTES
• ASU is 31-5 in regular season Pac-12 games the last two season. Prior to its loss at Oregon State on Feb. 1, 2016, ASU's 9-0 record in Pac-12 play was its best conference start in program history (surpassed last 7-0 start in 2015).
• Over the last three seasons ASU is 31-5 in non-conference games and 44-6 at home.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 55.4 points per game over the last two season (68 games). On average, opposing teams scored more than 15.0 points under their scoring average when facing ASU last season. In fact, only two opponents (Marquette and Tennessee), scored more points than what they averaged coming into their respective games vs. ASU.
• Since the 1996-97 season, Turner Thorne's first season at ASU, the Sun Devils lead the Pac-12 in the number of first-team All-Academic conference awards (19) and the combined number of first- and second-team All-Academic conference awards (40). In 2014-15 ASU's team GPA (3.558) was No. 7 on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's (WBCA) 2015 Academic Honor Roll.
• ASU was picked to finish in fourth place in the Pac-12 by both the league's coaches and media who cover the conference. The Sun Devils received one first-place vote in the media poll.
• In the last three seasons the Sun Devils are 25-6 in games decided by five points or less and/or overtime.
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 (380), 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 both the 400th win of her coaching career and her 200th Pac-12 win last season, 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.
In 2015-16 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 ascended to even greater heights last 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). They would go on to clinch their first Pac-12 regular season championship since 2001 and earned the highest NCAA Tournament seed (No. 2) in program history.
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.
CELEBRATING ELITE ACCOMPLISHMENT
This season will be the 10th anniversary of ASU's first ever appearance in the NCAA Elite Eight. Led by senior forwards Aubree Johnson and Emily Westerberg who were both named to the All-Pac-10 Team, ASU set school records for overall wins (31), most Pac-10 wins (16 - tied in 2016) and most road wins (10 - broken in 2016) With the honor, Westerberg became the first Sun Devil to be named to the All-Pac-10 Team three times. In addition to Johnson and Westerberg's accolades, sophomore guard Briann January was named All-Pac-10 Honorable Mention and guard Dymond Simon was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team.
SUN DEVIL WBB ANNOUNCES THE SIGNING OF EVA RUBIN AND BRE'YANNA SANDERS
On Nov. 9, 2016, Arizona State University head women's basketball coach Charli Turner Thorne today announced that student-athletes Eva Rubin and Bre'yanna Sanders signed national letters of intent to join the Sun Devil women's basketball program.
"We are excited to announce that Eva and Bre will be joining our Sun Devil women's basketball family," Turner Thorne said. "Both of these young women come from great families and will not only excel on the court but in the classroom and our community."
A 6-5 post, Rubin will be coming to ASU from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Flossmoor, Illinois, where she averaged 15 points, eight rebounds and four blocks as a junior in 2016. Ranked No. 14 at her position by ESPN.com, Rubin earned Class 3A/4A All-State recognition from the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association last season in addition to also being named to the All-Area and All-Conference teams. As a sophomore in 2015, Rubin helped lead her squad to a fourth-place finish in the IHSA 4A state tournament. During Homewood-Flossmoor's run in the tournament, Rubin tied a Class 4A single-game record with five blocked shots.
"We are simply ecstatic about what Eva will bring to our program," Turner Thorne said. "She is a skilled, tough, hardworking center who will immediately contribute to our team as we graduate (senior post players) Quinn (Dornstauder), Sara (Hattis), and Sophie (Brunner). Her rebounding, low block scoring and shot blocking are exceptional.
"While we loved Eva's game on the court, we were also tremendously impressed with her maturity and leadership qualities. She has great passion for the game and an intense, competitive spirit."
A 6-0 forward, Sanders will be joining the Sun Devils from Clovis West High School in Fresno, California, where she has earned first-team All-Valley recognition in addition to being named the team's defensive player of the year each of the last two seasons. In 2016 Sanders averaged 11.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.2 blocks in helping lead her team to 30-4 record and the semifinals of the Southern California Regional Open Division. She would go on to be named the league co-player of the year. In 2015 Sanders had a big role on a team that posted a 26-5 record, its third straight Central Section Division I title and reached the second round of the Southern California Open Division regional.
"Bre Sanders is a versatile, dynamic forward who will be able to play multiple positions and impact the game on both sides of the ball," Turner Thorne said. "She is an excellent shooter, elite rebounder and relentless defender. As great as Bre is as a basketball player, she is an even better teammate and leader. We are so excited for all that she will bring to our Sun Devil family."