WHEN: Sunday at 3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT
WHERE: Galen Center • Los Angeles
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Network/Arizona/Los Angeles
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and SDA TuneIn Channel
UP NEXT
The No. 16 Arizona State women's basketball team will conclude a stretch in which it will have played six of eight games on the road on Sunday (3 p.m. PT/4 p.m. MT) when it visits the Galen Center to take on USC.
Sunday's game at USC kicks off the second half of Pac-12 play. The short-handed Sun Devils finished the first nine-game go-round 5-4. After starting league play 4-1 the Sun Devils dropped three of four against a quartet of squads – seventh-ranked Washington (20-2), at California (15-6), at No. 10 Stanford (18-3), at No. 13 UCLA (16-4) – that currently have an aggregate record of 69-15 (.821).
ASU (14-6, 5-4 Pac-12) comes into Sunday's game in fifth place in the Pac-12. They are one game ahead of sixth-place Oregon (14-7, 4-5), two games behind fourth-place UCLA (16-4, 7-2) and three games behind the first-place trio of Washington (20-2, 8-1), Stanford (18-3, 8-1) and No. 11 Oregon State (19-2, 8-1).
After retuning to Tempe ASU will prepare for a contest with Oregon State on Friday before a Super Sunday tilt with Oregon. The Sun Devils will then pack their bags again for a trip to the Pacific Northwest for rematches against Washington State (Feb. 10) and Washington (Feb. 12). After it plays at Arizona on Fri., Feb. 17 ASU will have played all nine of its conference road games in a span of 13 games.
In addition to wanting to maintain/improve their standing within the conference, the Sun Devils want to do the same as it relates to the national picture. ASU was the 16th of the top 16 seeds announced by the NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship Sport Committee on Jan. 23, the first of three such announcements that will take place during the regular season (also Feb. 6 and Feb. 20). The importance of being one of the top 16 seeds means the opportunity to host the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament.
The Sun Devils are coming off a 69-60 loss at UCLA on Friday, the squad's second straight setback against a top 15 team on the road. Down by as many as 18 in the second half, the Sun Devils made a furious comeback to get within five points on two occasions in the final 2:25, but were never able to pull even with the Bruins. Three players – Sophie Brunner (16 points), Robbi Ryan (13 points) and Quinn Dornstauder (10 points) – scored in double figures for the Sun Devils, who shot 37 percent from the field. What ASU could not get in the run of play it made up for at the foul line where it hit 91 percent of its free throw attempts (19-21). Each team grabbed 32 rebounds. Brunner led the way for ASU with eight boards while Kianna Ibis, who scored nine points, matched her career high with seven rebounds.
This season represented the first time since 2002 that the Sun Devils opened the conference slate with the label of 'defending champions,' after tying with Oregon State last season for the league's top spot in the regular season standings (16-2). Prior to tying for the conference title last season the Sun Devils were in the runner-up spot in 2015 after finishing 15-3, one game behind Oregon State (16-2). One of the keys to ASU's Pac-12 success the last two seasons has been its ability to get out to fast starts. In 2015 the Sun Devils won their first seven Pac-12 games, which at the time was their best league start ever. They would surpass that mark last season after winning their first nine league games.
COVERAGE
Sunday's game at USC can be seen live on Pac-12 Network/Arizona/Los Angeles (Anne Marie Anderson/Layshia Clarendon) and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and on the Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel. Pregame radio coverage will begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Valley. 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.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS USC
ASU has prevailed in four of the last five meetings with all five contests coming down to the final minute or OT. ASU won the only regular season meeting in 2013-14, 94-86 (OT) in Tempe. USC would even the series with a 59-57 win in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament, the only game ASU lost that was decided by five or fewer points and/or overtime (12-1) in 2013-14. In 2015 ASU had to go to double OT before coming away with a 76-73 win in Los Angeles. Brunner had 14 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists while playing 45 minutes. Last season Brunner converted a 3-point play with 1.4 seconds remaining to lift the Sun Devils to a 69-68 win in the first meeting in Tempe. In the rematch in Los Angeles, ASU denied USC's attempts to tie the score twice in the final 32 seconds in the Sun Devils' 50-45 win.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• This year ASU returned 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 in program history) and went on to earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament (highest placement in program history). In addition, 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year Charli Turner Thorne welcomed 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.
• One of the biggest factors in ASU's recent Pac-12 success has been its ability to win on the road where they are a combined 18-5 in conference road games since 2015.
• ASU has held every Pac-12 opponent below its scoring average and all but two 12 or more points below its average: Stanford (76.4/64/-12.4), Cal (80.8/62/-18.8 - in double OT), Utah (72.1/44/-28.1), Colorado (78.3/51/-27.3), Washington State (73.5/49/-24.5), Washington (88.5 ppg/65/-23.1), Cal (75.4/45/-30.4), Stanford (75.7/66/-9.7), UCLA (75.5/69/-6.5).
• ASU had held the opposition to 10 or fewer points in a quarter 19x this season.
• ASU has outrebounded all but three of its opponents this season: vs. Maryland (-19), at Stanford (-8) and at UCLA (even).
• As of January 28, ASU is ranked among the top third in the Pac-12 in 3-point FG percentage defense (1st/25.0/3rd in the nation), rebounding defense (1st/30.2 rpg), scoring defense (2nd/55.0 ppg/19th in the nation), offensive rebounds (2nd/15.5 rpg) and rebounding margin (2nd/+9.6/12th in the nation). Individually, Brunner is tied for 3rd in offensive rebounds (3.5 rpg), 4th in FG pct. (53.6), 9th in rebounds (7.9 rpg), 12th in FT pct. (73.1) and 15th in scoring (13.2 ppg); Dornstauder is t-12th in rebounds (6.0 rpg), 13th shot blocks (1.3 bpg) and t-13th in offensive rebounds (2.1 rpg); Richardson is 3rd in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.2), 5th in FT pct. (83.1) and 12th in assists (3.9 apg).
• Brunner (F), Dornstauder (C) and Sabrina Haines (G) have started all 20 games this season.
• Brunner (1,220 points/12th) needs 10 points to break into ASU's Top 10 for career points. Brunner, who is No. 2 on ASU's all-time rebounds list (836), is averaging 15.8 points and 9.8 rebounds and has connected on 86 percent (19-22) of her FTs in ASU's last six games.
• Quinn Dornstauder is averaging 12.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in ASU's last eight games. She had double-doubles in ASU's wins over Cal (19 points, 10 rebounds) and Colorado (13 points, career-high 12 rebounds) and just missed a double-double in ASU's wins at Utah (15 points, nine rebounds) and at Cal (12 points, eight rebounds).
• Senior Kelsey Moos (102 starts in 104 career games), who has established new single-game career highs this season for assists (8) and steals (6) and tied a career high with three 3-pointers, is currently out (missed last seven games) after suffering a foot injury in ASU's 2OT win over Cal (Jan. 1). At the time of her injury Moos, who is expected to return next month, led the team in 3-pointers (11), steals (1.8 spg) and FT pct. (92.9/13-14), was 2nd in rebounding (5.8 rpg) and 3rd in assists (2.3 apg).
• ASU's five member freshman class – Sydney Goodson, Reili Richardson, Jamie Ruden (lost for the season on Dec. 28), Kiara Russell and Robbi Ryan – combined for 60 points and 19 assists the first two games of the season. Richardson was named the Pac-12's Freshman of the Week after averaging 9.0 points and 5.5 assists while connecting on 58 percent of her shots in the two wins. Richardson, who had seven points and seven assists in her Sun Devil debut, tied fellow freshman Robbi Ryan with a game-high 11 points (4-7 FGs) to go along with four assists in ASU's 82-37 win over San Jose State. Ryan scored 19 points in ASU's loss at Marquette (Nov. 19). Ryan also led ASU in scoring (13 points) in its win at Middle Tennessee (Dec. 13) and tied for the team lead (14 points) in ASU's win at Cal (Jan. 20). She has started ASU's last seven games in place of Kelsey Moos.
• Russell started the first seven games at point guard before getting injured during the week of preparation for ASU's game at Kentucky (Dec. 11). She missed six games before returning for ASU's game at Utah (Jan. 6). Richardson has started the last 13 games at point guard and has scored in double figures eight times and dished out six or more assists five times during that stretch. Richardson needs 27 assists to break ASU's freshman assists record held by Kylan Loney (104 in 2002).
• Goodson leads the team in 3-point FG percentage (40.0/10-25).
• Over the last seven games Richardson (22-23) and Haines (17-18) have combined to shoot 95.1 percent from the line (39-41).
SUN DEVILS CONTINUE TO BE AMONG THE PAC-12'S BEST
In what has arguably been the most competitive era in the history of Pac-12 women's basketball, Arizona State has established itself as one of the conference's most successful programs. Since 2015 ASU's 36 wins in Pac-12 play trail only Oregon State's 40. In 2015 the Sun Devils just missed tying for a share of the Pac-12 regular season title, a feat they would accomplish last season after tying Oregon State in the league standings (16-2).
ASU's win over Holy Cross on Dec. 21 was its 40th regular-season, non-conference win in the last four seasons. Going back to the 1986-87 season – the first season of Pac-10/Pac-12 play – ASU's 40 regular-season, non-conference wins are by far the most in a four-season stretch in program history (the next highest total is 33 games done three times: 2003-06/2004-07/2005-08). In addition, ASU's 40 wins leading up to the start of the conference season are more than any other team in the Pac-12 the last four seasons. This was the fourth straight season that ASU brought a winning streak of six or more games into Pac-12 play. The 2013-14 team won 10 straight, the 2014-15 team won seven straight, the 2015-16 team won six straight and this year's team will brought a seven-game winning streak into league play.
SUN DEVIL WBB JUST AS SUCCESSFUL IN THE CLASSROOM AS IT IS ON THE COURT
For the Fall 2016 semester the Sun Devil WBB team turned in an extraordinary effort in the classroom that resulted in a 3.63 team GPA. Every player on the roster has a cumulative GPA about 3.0, including nine players with a cumulative GPA of 3.4 or higher.
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.
BRUNNER NOMINATED FOR WBCA/ALLSTATE GOOD WORKS TEAM AND SENIOR CLASS AWARD
In December Sophie Brunner was one of 97 women's basketball student-athletes named as nominees for the 2017 Allstate WBCA Good Works Team®. The esteemed award honors an outstanding group of student-athletes who represent the sport's finest in the areas of community service and leadership among their peers. The Allstate WBCA Good Works Team® recognizes players at all levels of college basketball whose charitable involvement and altruistic acts stand out amongst all other student-athletes participating in the sport. Brunner's selfless and giving attitude has been on display since her freshman year when she volunteered to be a frequent participant in the Sun Devil women's basketball team's Character Code program. Since that time Brunner, who was also a nominee for the Good Works Team in 2015, has led assemblies in more than 30 schools across the Valley where she encourages youth to practice good character at home, at school and with friends. In 2014 Brunner joined a group of Sun Devil student-athletes who traveled with ASU American Indian students to Hopi and Navajo lands as part of the ASU Tribal Nations Tour. Sophie joined her peers in the endeavor to interact with tribal members, encourage higher education and wellness, and work on community service projects. Brunner's community service efforts have also included being a leader in the Interact Program, where she performed service projects for the underserved, made holiday baskets and kits for Haiti and organized food drives. She also took part in DAWG, a drug and alcohol awareness group promoting sobriety and mentoring her peers.
On January 5 it was announced Brunner was one of 30 student-athletes named as candidates for the 2016-17 Senior CLASS Award® in women's basketball. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School ®, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
FREE THROWS
• 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.
• Over the last three seasons ASU is 40-7 (.851) in regular-season non-conference games and 52-8 (.867) at home.
• ASU is 36-9 in regular season Pac-12 games going back to 2015. Prior to its loss at Oregon State last season, ASU's 9-0 record in Pac-12 play was its best conference start in program history (surpassed last 7-0 start in 2015).
• The Sun Devils are 26-6 in road games since the start of the 2014-15 season (includes an 18-5 mark in Pac-12 play). Last season the Sun Devils set a program record with 11 road wins.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 55.3 points per game since the start of the 2014-15 season (88 games). ASU has held the opposition to 50 or fewer points 32 times during that stretch. They are 31-1 in those contests. The only loss came at home to Cal (50-49) on Feb. 8, 2015. 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.
• In the last three-plus seasons the Sun Devils are 27-6 in games decided by five points or less and/or overtime, including a 2-0 record this season: ASU's 73-71 overtime win at No. 15 Kentucky on Dec. 11 and its 72-62, double-OT win vs. No. 21 Cal on Jan. 1.
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 ASU returns its entire starting frontcourt this 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 in October, 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 for setting the tone for the upcoming season.
"This is 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."
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 (394), 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.
Last season Turner Thorne was named the 2016 Pac-12 Coach of the Year (coaches and media), the second time she has been recognized with the honor (2001), after leading the Sun Devils to their second regular season Pac-12 championship. ASU would go on to earn its highest NCAA Tournament seed (No. 2) in program history. In 2016 ASU has also tied the program records for most conference wins (16) and consecutive wins (15) and set the program record for most road wins (11). Turner Thorne would go on to also be named the WBCA Region 5 Co-Coach of the Year.
In 2014-15 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.
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.
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.
INJURY NOTES
Kelsey Moos suffered a foot injury late in the second overtime of ASU's win over Cal on Jan. 1 and has missed ASU's last seven games. She is expected to return next month. Freshman guard Kiara Russell started the first seven games of the season at point guard before sustaining an injury (quad) in practice on Dec. 5. She missed six games and returned to action at Utah on Jan. 6. Freshman post Jamie Ruden suffered a foot injury in practice on Dec. 28 and is likely to miss the remainder of the season. Freshman Reili Richardson (team-high 11 points, career-high seven rebounds, career-high-tying seven assists) was forced to leave ASU's game vs. Washington (Jan. 15) after suffering an ankle injury with 7:37 remaining in the fourth quarter (game was tied at 48-48 at the time). By the time Richardson returned after being treated on the bench the Sun Devils were down 59-50 with 2:54 left.
FORMER VALLEY STANDOUT/UCONN TRANSFER COURTNEY EKMARK AWAITS OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY NEXT SEASON
Last summer Charli Turner Thorne announced that former UConn guard Courtney Ekmark would be transferring into the Sun Devil women's basketball program. Ekmark, who completed her sophomore season for the Huskies in 2015-16, will have to sit out this season per NCAA transfer rules and then will have two years of eligibility beginning with the 2017-18 season.
"I've know Courtney since she was nine years old and it is so exciting to welcome her home. She was one of the greatest high school players ever to come out of the state of Arizona and we are ecstatic beyond words that she is joining our program," Turner Thorne said. "Courtney is a player who can do it all and she will have an incredible impact in every part of the game. For those that don't know Courtney, her competitive spirit and work ethic are simply in the 99th percentile among college basketball players. Complementing her exceptional talent and toughness is Courtney's giving and passionate nature that will fit perfectly into our culture. She comes from an amazing family that we are very grateful is now part of our Sun Devil family."
Ekmark will be returning to the Valley where she helped lead St. Mary's High School to an 87-3 record (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. Ekmark was named the state of Arizona's Gatorade Player of the Year following a junior season in which she averaged 19.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals. In the 2013 state tournament, she averaged 21.5 points in helping lead the Knights to the title. In the 49-37 championship game win over Pinnacle, Ekmark had a game-high 14 points, becoming the first Arizona player to be the top scorer in three consecutive championship games. In addition to her outstanding play on the hardwood, Ekmark also excelled on the tennis court for St. Mary's, earning the top singles spot on the team.
As a member of UConn's two most recent NCAA championship teams, Ekmark played in 61 games, including 10 of the Huskies' 12 NCAA Tournament games. She averaged 9.3 minutes per game during those two seasons and connected on 38 percent of her field goal attempts.