WHEN: Thursday at 1:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. MT
WHERE: Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya • Puerto Aventuras, Mexico
LIVE STREAM: www.CollegeSportsLive.com (paid subscription is required)
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM1060/Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel
UP NEXT
The No. 24 Arizona State women's basketball team will face its biggest challenge of the young season when it travels to Puerto Aventuras, Mexico, for the Cancun Challenge. The Sun Devils will play three games in three days starting on Thanksgiving Day when they face 2017 NCAA finalist and No. 7/3 Mississippi State. On Friday the Sun Devils will face Green Bay and then will close out play on Saturday when they take on Columbia. All three games will be played at 1:30 p.m. ET/11:30 a.m. MT.
This is the second of three consecutive weeks in which the Sun Devils will play consecutive games. Last weekend ASU came up with wins over Sacramento State (Saturday) and Colgate (Sunday). Next week (Dec. 2-3) the Sun Devils will return home to host their annual tournament, the ASU Classic, which will include games against Buffalo and either UC Riverside or UNLV.
Kianna Ibis (16.0 ppg), Robbi Ryan (13.0 ppg) and Sophia Elenga (11.0 ppg) averaged double figures in scoring in ASU's wins over Sacramento State (106-58) and Colgate (65-54).
Sabrina Haines tied her career high in scoring with 19 points against Sacramento State. Also posting double-digit scoring totals for the Sun Devils were Elenga (16 points/6-6 FGs/3-3 FTs), Ryan (14 points/4-7 FGs), Ibis (12 points/5-7 FGs), Courtney Ekmark (10 points/8-9 FTs) and Jamie Ruden (10 points/4-7 FGs). Ekmark posted her first career double-double with a career-high 10 rebounds while Johnson-Chapman just missed a double-double with nine points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
Ibis scored a game- and career-high 20 points to go with a career-high three blocks in Sunday's win over Colgate. Ryan (12 points) and Johnson-Chapman (10 points) also came through with strong outings for the Sun Devils, who used a 20-6 run in the second half to put break away from the Raiders. After recording 31 assists in Saturday's win over Sacramento State – the first time ASU had 30 or more assists since 2008 – the Sun Devils had 22 on Sunday. Coming off a career-high, 10-assist performance, Reili Richardson dished out seven more versus Colgate giving her 17 assists and only two turnovers for the weekend.
This is the fourth time since 2005 that the Sun Devils have visited Cancun for the annual Thanksgiving weekend tournament. In their most recent appearance in 2013, the Sun Devils won all three of their contests, defeating Illinois 86-65, No. 11 North Carolina 94-81 in OT and Arkansas State 69-66. Former Sun Devil Adrianne Thomas was named the MVP in ASU's field after averaging 12.0 points, 4.7 assists and 4.0 rebounds in the three games. In ASU's upset of UNC, Thomas scored a career-high 23 points and tied her career high with eight assists.
COVERAGE
All three games will be streamed by CollegeSportsLive.com. Please note that a paid subscription is required to view the games.
All three games can also be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and the Sun Devil Athletics Tune-In Channel. Pre-game coverage will begin each day at 11 a.m. Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona's 2010 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 14th season as the voice of ASU women's basketball.
SERIES NOTES
ASU's only meeting against Mississippi State occurred at the 2005 Cancun Challenge, a contest won by the Sun Devils 70-48... ASU will face Green Bay for the second time in four years after the Phoenix edged the Sun Devils 63-57 at the 2014 Gulf Coast Challenge in Estero, Fla... Like Green Bay, Columbia will be another relatively familiar foe as the Sun Devils defeated the Lions 70-49 in 2015 in the only prior meeting between the two teams.
QUICK NOTES
• As a team, ASU's enters this week's games ranked No. 5 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.88), ninth in assists per game (22.5), 14th in scoring defense (50.1 ppg) and 18th in field goal percentage (48.9) and rebound margin (+14.8)
• ASU is currently one of a Pac-12-record six teams that are ranked in the Associated Press poll this week: UCLA (5th), Oregon (10th), Stanford (14th), Oregon State (18th), Cal (21st) and ASU (24th), .
• Four Sun Devils are averaging double figures in scoring: Kianna Ibis (14.5 ppg), Charnea Johnson-Chapman (10.8 ppg), Robbi Ryan (10.3 ppg) and Sabrina Haines (10.0 ppg).
• Ibis has scored in double figures in every game, including a career-high 20 points vs. Colgate (Nov. 19).
• Johnson-Chapman is currently No. 2 in the Pac-12 in FG pct. (69.0).
• Reili Richardson's assist-to-turnover ratio thus far is more than 4:1 (25 assists/6 turnover). Currently 3rd in the Pac-12.
• Sophia Elenga is 9-10 from the floor in last two games.
• Courtney Ekmark is currently shooting 90.9 percent from the FT line (10-11/t5th in Pac-12) and has grabbed 5 or more rebounds in every game.
• ASU's 106-58 win over Sacramento State on Nov. 18 represented the first time it scored over 100 points since it defeated Memphis 103-57 on Dec. 2, 2005. ASU is one of three Pac-12 teams to score more than 100 points in a game this season, joining UCLA (129) and Oregon (110).
• ASU's 31 assists vs. Sacramento State on Nov. 18 represented the first time it had 30 or more assists in a game since it had 30 vs. Northern Arizona on Dec. 7, 2008. Tied for second-high total in Pac-12 this season.
• ASU has allowed 12 or fewer points in a quarter nine times this season. On the flip side, ASU has scored 20 or more points in quarter seven times.
• ASU has scored the opposition 181-99 in the second and third quarters.
• On average, ASU's bench is outscoring the opposition 30.5 - 13.5. Leading the way are Robbi Ryan (10.3 ppg) and Jamie Ruden (9.0 ppg).
ASU PACES THE PAC-12 IN NON-CONFERENCE WINS SINCE 2013
Including this season's 4-0 record, ASU's 44 wins leading up to the start of the conference season are more than any other team in the Pac-12 since 2013. Last year's win over Holy Cross was ASU's 40th regular-season, non-conference win since between 2013-16. Going back to the 1986-87 season – the first season of Pac-10/Pac-12 play – the 40 regular-season, non-conference wins were by far the most in a four-season stretch in program history (the next highest total was 33 games done three times: 2003-06/2004-07/2005-08).
2017 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE NOTES
Contests vs. NCAA finalist Mississippi State, NCAA regional finalist Florida State and NCAA Tournament participant Green Bay highlight the Arizona State women's basketball team's 2017 non-conference schedule. The Sun Devils will play 12 non-conference games, including four contests against teams that qualified for postseason play last March. In addition to the aforementioned NCAA Tournament teams, ASU will also face 2017 Women's Basketball Invitational semifinalist Idaho in what will be the first ever meeting between the two schools. The Sun Devils could face a fifth opponent that was involved in postseason play if they end up taking on 2017 WNIT participant UNLV on the second day of the annual ASU Classic.
PRESEASON POLLS
Both the coaches and media picked the Sun Devils to finish sixth in the Pac-12.... The Sun Devils received votes in both the AP and USA Today Coaches preseason polls... In other preseason polls of note, ASU came in at No. 23 in Lindy's Sports and No. 25 in ESPN.com. The Sun Devils were picked to earn a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament in ESPN.com Charlie Creme's first Bracketology post of the season (Nov. 7).
2017-18 SNAPSHOT
This year's Sun Devil squad returns three players who started at least 10 games last season: junior guard Sabrina Haines (32 starts) and sophomore guards Reili Richardson (25) and Robbi Ryan (12). Sophomore guard Kiara Russell also started nine games. While the Sun Devils have a good amount of experience on the perimeter, are replacing four members of the frontcourt who graduated last year: forward Sophie Brunner, guard/forward Kelsey Moos and centers Quinn Dornstauder and Sara Hattis. Brunner, Moos and Dornstauder were all significant contributors throughout their four years at ASU. Last season the trio accounted for 42 percent of ASU's points and 45 percent of its rebounds.
The Sun Devils have several capable candidates who will look to fill the shoes of what they lost to graduation. Among them are returning players junior forward Kianna Ibis (returns as ASU's active career leader in rebounds an shot blocks), junior center Charnea Johnson-Chapman (has played in 54 contests the last two seasons) and sophomore forward Jamie Ruden (brilliant shooter who missed all 18 games of conference play last season due to a foot injury).
The Sun Devils will have four new faces on the floor: junior guard/forward Courtney Ekmark, junior forward Sophia Elenga, freshman center Eva Rubin and freshman guard/forward Bre'yanna Sanders. Named the State of Arizona's Gatorade Player of the Year in 2013, Ekmark, a Valley native who helped lead St. Mary's to an 87-3 record and three straight state titles, played her first two seasons at UConn where she was a member of two national championship teams. She transferred to ASU in June 2016 and sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. Elenga transferred to ASU from Cochise College (Douglas, Ariz.) where she earned Arizona Community College Athletic Conference (ACCAC) First-Team honors and First-Team All-Region I (Div. I) recognition in 2016 and 2017. She helped lead the Apaches to their best record in program history (28-4) in 2017 as they captured their first Region 1 Division 1 championship in more than 30 years. Rubin comes to ASU from Homewood-Flossmoor High School in Illinois where she just missed averaging a double-double as a senior (11 points, nine rebounds, four blocks). Sanders, who accounted for 1,258 career points and nearly 1,000 rebounds in her career, was named the Fresno Bee Co-Player of the Year in 2017 after helping lead her Clovis West squad to a 34-2 record and the CIF State Open Division title.
SUN DEVIL WBB'S REILI RICHARDSON EARNS SILVER MEDAL AT FIBA 19 WORLD CUP
Sophomore guard Reili Richardson became the fourth Sun Devil women's basketball player to earn a medal since 2015 as the USA Women's U19 World Cup Team claimed silver at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup in Udine, Italy.
Richardson became the most recent Sun Devil to earn a medal in international competition as former Sun Devils Katie Hempen (gold/USA/World University Games), Quinn Dornstauder (silver/Canada/World University Games) and Sophie Brunner (silver/USA/Pan American Games) claimed medals in 2015.
Richardson averaged 10.8 minutes per game and was a steady contributor in helping the USA to wins in each of its first six games at the FIBA World Cup.
Richardson, a 5-11 guard, is coming off an outstanding freshman campaign in which she set ASU's single-season freshman record for assists (126). A Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention honoree, Richardson played in every game (25 starts) last season and led the team in assists (3.8 apg/12th in the Pac-12) and tied for the team lead in free throws made (79), was second in 3-pointers (20) and free throw percentage (82.3/12th in the Pac-12) and third in scoring (8.4 ppg) and steals (1.1 spg). She also finished fifth in the Pac-12 in assist-to-turnover ratio. Richardson, whose 277 points ranked seventh in program history for most points scored by a freshman, scored in double figures 13 times, including a career-high 16 points at eventual national champion South Carolina in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, a game the Sun Devils led going into the final minute.
FORMER VALLEY STANDOUT/UCONN TRANSFER/FIRST-YEAR LAW SCHOOL STUDENT COURTNEY EKMARK MAKES HER SUN DEVIL DEBUT IN 2017-18
In June 2016 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, sat out the 2016-17 season per NCAA transfer rules. She has two years of eligibility remaining. Ekmark, who earned her degree in Liberal Studies (May 2017) in only three years, is currently a first-year law student in ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law.
Ekmark will returned 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 (2015 and 2016), 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.
FREE THROWS
• ASU has allowed an average of only 56.0 points per game since the start of the 2014-15 season (105 games). ASU has held the opposition to 50 or fewer points 34 times during that stretch. They are 33-1 in those contests. The only loss came at home to Cal (50-49) on Feb. 8, 2015.
• Over the last three seasons (105 games) ASU has allowed the opposition to make only 28.3 percent of its attempts from long range.
• In the last four-plus seasons the Sun Devils are 29-8 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 (404), 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 ASU qualified for the Elite Eight on a pair of occasions, making it one of only 15 programs in the country to have qualified for the Elite Eight at least two times between 2007-12.
Last season the Sun Devils qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive season and the 12th time under Turner Throne's guidance. ASU gave eventual national champion South Carolina its toughest game of the NCAA Tournament as it led the Gamecocks by as many as 11 in the second half and took a one-point lead into the final minute of the game before falling, 71-68.
In 2016 Turner Thorne was named the 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 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.
SUN DEVIL WBB EARNS NO. 5 RANKING IN WBCA ACADEMIC TOP 25
For the second time in three years the Arizona State women's basketball program finished among the nation's best in combined team GPA. With a final team GPA of 3.672 for the 2016-17 academic year the Sun Devils finished fifth in the nation (the highest ranking in program history) among Division I institutions in the WBCA's annual Academic Top 25. The WBCA Academic Top 25 recognizes NCAA Division I, II and III; NAIA and junior/community college women's basketball teams across the nation that carry the highest combined GPAs inclusive of all student-athletes on their rosters for the entire season. The 2016-17 season is the 22nd in which the WBCA has compiled the honor rolls.
ASU's No. 5 finish in this year's rankings represents the second time in three seasons the Sun Devils have been among the top 10 programs in the country after placing seventh (3.558) for the 2014-15 academic year. In 2016-17 ASU was one of only eight teams around the country to be included in the WBCA's Top 25 and qualify for the NCAA Tournament. Of those eight, ASU and DePaul were the only two schools to advance past the first round.
In March the Sun Devils had two players earn Pac-12 First-Team All-Academic recognition (2017 senior Kelsey Moos and Quinn Dornstauder), one player earn second-team honors (2017 senior Sophie Brunner) and three players named honorable mention (current Sun Devils Sabrina Haines, Kianna Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman). ASU was the only Pac-12 school with two first-team honorees and led all Pac-12 schools with three combined first- and second-team honorees.
Moos became only the 11th player in Pac-10/12 history (going back to 1986-87) to earn conference first-team recognition three straight years. Brunner was also eligible for CoSIDA Academic All-American honors after being one of five players named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District® VIII Team in February.
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 (21) and the combined number of first- and second-team All-Academic conference awards (43).
ALL-TIME SUN DEVIL GREAT, CURRENT INDIANA FEVER GUARD BRIANN JANUARY JOINS SUN DEVIL WBB COACHING STAFF
All-time Sun Devil great and current Indiana Fever guard Briann January returned to ASU as an assistant coach this past April. January, who helped lead ASU to 104 wins – the most in program history in a four-year span – while playing for the Sun Devils, will continue her professional playing career with Indiana where she is currently preparing to start her ninth season.
January, who last year was named to the Pac-12 Women's Basketball All-Century Team, concluded her Sun Devil playing career at or near the top of several ASU career statistical categories including assists (first), free throw percentage (first), steals (second), free throws (second), 3-point field goal percentage (fourth), 3-point field goals (fifth) and points (seventh). A two-time Pac-10 Defensive Player of the Year, January earned honorable mention All-America recognition from the Associated Press and WBCA in 2009. During her four-year career the Sun Devils won 77 percent of their games (104-32), including 82 percent of their Pac-10 games (59-13), and qualified for the NCAA Tournament all four years, including two Elite Eight appearances (2007, '09).
January was selected by the Fever with the sixth overall pick in the 2009 WNBA Draft. In that time she has played a major role in helping Indiana qualify for the playoffs each of the last eight seasons, including three trips to the WNBA Finals and a WNBA championship in 2012. January is coming off a 2016 campaign in which she averaged 9.7 points, 1.8 rebounds and a career-best 4.7 assists per game while being named to the WNBA's All-Defensive Team for the fifth straight season. In 2014, January was named to the East All-Star Team for the WNBA's annual All-Star Game that was played in Phoenix. In 2012, January averaged 10.0 ppg in the WNBA Finals to help lead the Fever over the Minnesota Lynx for the WNBA title. As a rookie in 2009, January had an immediate impact as Indiana made its first WNBA finals appearance.
ANGIE NELP JOINS SUN DEVIL WBB COACHING STAFF; JACKIE MOORE PROMOTED TO ASSOCIATE HEAD COACH
This past May Charli Turner Thorne announced the appointment of Angie Nelp as assistant coach and that Jackie Moore had been promoted to associate head coach. Nelp joined ASU from Rice University where most recently she helped guide the Owls to a WBI Championship (the school's first postseason title) and 22 victories in 2016-17, the second-most wins in a single season. The Owls improved by 13 wins from her first to second season, one of the top increments in the nation. Players who Nelp has mentored in her time as an assistant coach have combined for 17 All-Conference awards. In addition she has helped develop three players who went on to play in the WNBA and eight players who signed to play professionally overseas.
Rice led all of Conference USA in total assists (558) and total rebounds (1,308) while setting a single-season program record in 3-pointers (242). In addition the Owls ranked second in the league in assists per game (15.9), field goal percentage (.444), made three-pointers (242) and free throw attempts (626). The Owls set a school record with 13 home victories in the 2016-17 season and the team's 9-2 start was the best by a Rice squad since the 1988-89 season.
Nelp joined the Owls after spending four seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Mercer where she was responsible for coaching the guards, as well as scout and film preparation. Nelp helped lead Mercer to two 20-win seasons, setting school records for most conference and non-conference wins while orchestrating one of the nation's quickest program turnarounds in one year as the Bears went from six to 20 wins.
Moore, who has more than 20 years of coaching experience, joined the Sun Devil coaching staff in 2012. In addition to serving as the program's recruiting coordinator, Moore's on-court contributions have been vital to ASU's recent success, which includes 98 wins and four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances since 2014.