WHEN: Friday at 7 p.m. MT
WHERE: Coors Events Center • Boulder, Colo.
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Arizona and Pac-12 Mountain
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and TuneIn Radio
LIVE STATS: Click here
UP NEXT
After posting a 9-3 record in non-conference play the Arizona State women's basketball team opens the Pac-12 portion of its schedule this weekend when it travels north to take on Colorado (Friday at 7 p.m. MT) and Utah (Sunday at noon MT).
For the first time since 2014 the Sun Devils find themselves starting Pac-12 play on the road. Unlike last season when they played seven of nine contests away from home in the middle of the conference schedule, the Sun Devils will play no more than two consecutive games either home or away.
This is the second time this month that ASU will be coming off an eight-day layoff in-between games. ASU is currently in a stretch it which it is playing only seven games in the month of December, a 180-degree difference from the way it started the season in which it played seven games in 14 days.
The Sun Devils closed out the non-conference slate in very impressive fashion with home wins over Idaho (77-33 on Dec. 18) and Arkansas (89-43 on Dec. 21). Jamie Ruden (16.5 ppg), Courtney Ekmark (15.5 ppg) and Kianna Ibis (14.5 ppg) all averaged double figures in the two wins. Ruden led ASU in the win over Idaho with a career-high 19 points. Two days later Ekmark registered a new career high in scoring (23 points) in spectacular fashion as she tied the school record for 3-pointers FGs with seven. Ibis connected on 64 percent (14-22) of her field goals in the two wins while Charnea Johnson-Chapman (9.0 rpg/career-high 12 rebounds vs. Idaho) led ASU's rebounding effort. Reili Richardson (15 assists/one turnover/currently No. 2 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio), and Kiara Russell (10 assists/zero turnovers/ currently No. 23 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio) were outstanding in their distribution of the ball as the duo combined for 25 assists and only one turnover.
As a team the Sun Devils averaged more than double the points of the opposition in the two games (83.0–38.0) while allowing them to shoot only 27.4 percent. Offensively, ASU connected on 48.3 percent of its field goals and 48.5 percent of its 3-pointers (Ruden 5-5/Ekmark 8-17 led the way) while posting an extraordinary assist-to-turnover ratio of 46-17.
The Buffaloes (9-2) will present the Sun Devils with a variety of challenges, particularly on the boards where they are sixth in the nation in rebounds per game and 13th in rebounding margin. Offensively, Colorado is third in the Pac-12 in scoring offense (80.2 ppg) as it features two of the top 16 scorers in the league in junior guard Kennedy Leonard (seventh/15.5 ppg) and freshman forward Annika Jank (13.7 ppg/16th), who has earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week recognition three times this season.
Next weekend ASU will return home to face No. 20 Cal and Stanford.
COVERAGE
Friday's game at Colorado can be seen live on Pac-12 Arizona and Pac-12 Mountain (Thad Anderson on the call). Sunday's game at Utah can be viewed via live steam at http://pac-12.com/live/university-utah.
Both games can also be heard on the Sun Devils Athletics Tune-In Channel (Friday's game will also be broadcast on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060). Pregame coverage will start at 6:30 p.m. on Friday and 11:30 a.m. on Sunday. 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 VERSUS COLORADO (CU LEADS 10-8 SINCE 1976)
Although Colorado leads the all-time series 10-8, the Sun Devils have won eight of the 10 meetings – including the last six in a row – since the Buffaloes joined the Pac-12 in 2011-12. The Sun Devils dropped their first eight meetings to Colorado with the last of those losses coming in 1987. ASU came out on top 71-52 in the only meeting between the two teams last season in Boulder. Former Sun Devils Quinn Dornstauder (13 points, career-high 12 rebounds) and Sophie Brunner (team-high 16 points) and current Sun Devil Reili Richardson (14 points) combined for 43 points in the win.
DOMINANT DEVIL DEFENSE
• ASU comes into the opening weekend of Pac-12 play ranked second in the Pac-12 and 12th in the nation in scoring defense, allowing only 52.9 ppg. The Sun Devils have limited the opposition to 12 or fewer points in a quarter 25 times this season, including a season low of three points scored by Idaho in the fourth quarter on Dec. 18.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 55.8 points per game since the start of the 2014-15 season (113 games). ASU has held the opposition to 50 or fewer points 38 times during that stretch. They are 37-1 in those contests. The only loss came at home to Cal (50-49) on Feb. 8, 2015.
• ASU has made the most of its takeaways as it is averaging 20.8 points per game off the opposition's turnovers. They have scored 20 or more points off turnovers in more than half of their games (seven of 12), including a season-high 31. vs. Arkansas on Dec. 21.
• Over the last three-plus seasons (113 games) ASU has allowed the opposition to make only 28.0 percent of its attempts from long range.
• Arkansas entered its game at ASU No. 2 in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (10.4). The Sun Devils forced 12 in the first quarter alone as Arkansas would go on to commit 23 turnovers in the game.
IT'S ALL ABOUT POSSESSIONS
• The Sun Devils are currently first in the Pac-12 and fifth in the nation in fewest turnovers per game (11.6). They also lead the Pac-12 and are 20th in the country in turnover margin (+6.3) and are third in the Pac-12 and 11th in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4).
• Reili Richardson (second) and Kiara Russell (23rd) are currently among the top 25 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Since committing a season-high 22 turnovers at Florida State (Dec. 10), ASU has averaged only 9.5 turnovers in its last four games.
• The Sun Devils are averaging only 14.4 turnovers the last three plus seasons (113 games).
TOUGH COMPETITION
All three of ASU's losses have come to teams currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and among the top seven teams in the NCAA RPI (as of Dec. 27): vs. No. 5-AP/No. 3 RPI Mississippi State (65-57), vs. No. 19/No. 4 Green Bay (61-48) and at No. 13/No. 7 Florida State (77-66). ASU's games against Mississippi State and Green Bay came on consecutive days when it was at the Cancun Challenge (Nov. 23-25) over Thanksgiving Weekend.
Against Mississippi State the Sun Devils rallied from a 13-point deficit to lead the Bulldogs by one point at the half and two points after three quarters. The game's major turning point came at the outset of the fourth quarter when Mississippi State went on an 8-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a six-point lead. The Sun Devils trailed the rest of the way as they could get no closer than three points.
After falling behind by 16 after one quarter at Florida State, the Sun Devils got back within single digits several times in the second half and actually outscored the Seminoles 55-50 over the last three quarters of the game.
HOW IS THIS FOR IMPROVEMENT?
The Sun Devils have recently found their shooting touch from long range as they have connected on 46.2 percent of their 3-pointers in their last five games. How much have they improved? In the first seven games of the season ASU's shots from downtown found their intended mark only 24.2 percent of the time. ASU has also struck with greater frequency in the last five games as they have averaged more than double the number of 3-pointers (7.2) than they did the first seven games (3.4). The Sun Devils hit a then-season-high nine 3-pointers at Florida State on Dec. 10. In its most recent outing ASU hit 12 from downtown, the second-highest, single-game total in school history.
Jamie Ruden currently leads the Pac-12 in 3-point FG percentage (57.7 percent). Ruden, who scored a career-high 19 points in ASU's win over Idaho (Dec. 18), has connected on 71 percent of her 3-pointers (10-14) in ASU's last six games.
Most recently, Courtney Ekmark hit seven 3-pointers to tie ASU's single-game school record for 3-pointers in the Sun Devils' 80-43 win over Arkansas on Dec. 21.
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS OF NOTE
• Reili Richardson, who leads the Sun Devils in assists (5.3 apg/tied for seventh in the Pac-12), leads the Pac-12 and is second in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. Richardson, who has 36 assists and only four turnovers in ASU's last seven games, tied her career high with 10 assists (second time this season) in ASU's win over Buffalo on Dec. 2nd.
• Fellow guard Kiara Russell is sixth in the Pac-12 and 23rd in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio. Russell has 20 assists and only two turnovers in ASU's last four games.
• Jamie Ruden leads the Pac-12 in 3-point FG percentage (57.7/15-21). Ruden, who knocked down a career-high four triples in ASU's win over Arkansas on Dec. 21, scored a career-high 19 points in ASU's win over Idaho (Dec. 18).
• Charnea Johnson-Chapman is currently sixth in the Pac-12 in FG pct. (57.3). Also the team leader in rebounds (7.3 rpg/15th in the Pac-12), Johnson-Chapman has grabbed 7 or more rebounds 9x, including a career-high 12 in ASU's win over Idaho (Dec. 18).
• Currently leading the team in scoring (12.1 ppg), Kianna Ibis is 22nd in the Pac-12 in scoring and 10th in field goal percentage (53.8). Ibis has scored in double figures 9x, including a career-high 20 points vs. Colgate on Nov. 19.
EKMARK TIES SINGLE-GAME SCHOOL RECORD FOR 3-POINTERS
Redshirt junior guard Courtney Ekmark connected on seven 3-pointers to tie ASU's single-game school record for 3-pointers in the Sun Devils' 80-43 win over Arkansas on Dec. 21. Ekmark, who scored a career-high 23 points against the Razorbacks, tied the mark previously accomplished by current ASU assistant coach Briann January (at UC Davis, Dec. 3, 2008), Crystal Cobb (vs. Oregon, Feb. 2, 1991) and Ryneldi Becenti (vs. Washington State, Feb. 13, 1993).
DEVILS WILL BE WITHOUT SABRINA HAINES FOR REMAINDER OF THE SEASON
Junior Sabrina Haines, who entered the season as one of ASU's starting guards, was lost for the season after suffering a knee injury against UC Riverside on Dec. 3. A starter in 38 of 75 career games, Haines came on towards the end of last season as she posted eight of her nine double-digit scoring efforts in the final 11 games of the season. She tied for the team lead in scoring (13.3 ppg) in ASU's four post season contests (two in the Pac-12 Tournament and two in the NCAA Tournament).
Haines had played in all nine of ASU's games (six starts) and had scored in double figures five times, including a career-high-tying 19 points in ASU's win vs. Sacramento State (Nov. 18). At the time of her injury Haines led the team in free throw percentage (86.7/1st in Pac-12), was second in scoring (10.2 ppg) and tied for second in steals (1.2 spg).
BENCH PRODUCTION
Although ASU's roster may be small in numbers (10 student-athletes on current active roster), it has not kept the Sun Devils from having an extremely productive bench. On average, ASU's reserves are outscoring the opposition's bench 28.5-11.4. Leading the way is Jamie Ruden, who is currently second on the team in scoring (10.4 ppg). Ruden has scored in double figures in six of ASU's last seven games, including a career-high 19 points vs. Idaho (Dec. 18).
HOME SWEET HOME
The Sun Devils have made Wells Fargo Arena one of the toughest places to play in recent years as they have won 86.1 percent of their home games (62-10) going back to the 2013-14 season, including a 7-0 mark this season.
ASU PACES THE PAC-12 IN NON-CONFERENCE WINS SINCE 2013
Including this season's 9-3 record, ASU's 49 regular season, non-conference wins are more than any other team in the Pac-12 since 2013. As a conference the Pac-12 has been raked No. 1 in the RPI each of the last two seasons. Last year's win over Holy Cross was ASU's 40th regular-season, non-conference win 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).
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). ASU cracked the AP Top 25 on Nov. 20 coming in at No. 24. However after going 1-2 at the Cancun Challenge ASU fell out of the poll. ASU is currently receiving votes in both polls.
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 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).
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 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.