TEMPE, Ariz. – A league-high and school-record-tying eight Arizona State University women's basketball players were named to the Pac-12 Women's Basketball All-Academic teams, announced by Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott on Wednesday.
 
The Sun Devils had one player earn first-team recognition (sophomore forward Jamie Ruden/4.00 GPA/Psychology), two players earn second-team honors (junior guard Sabrina Haines/3.75/Sports Journalism and sophomore guard Robbi Ryan/3.78/Psychology) and five players named honorable mention recognition (redshirt junior guard/forward Courtney Ekmark/3.24/Doctor of Law, junior forward Kianna Ibis/3.42/Interdisciplinary Studies, junior center Charnea Johnson-Chapman/3.42/Family and Human Development and sophomore guards Reili Richardson/3.32/Finance and Kiara Russell/3.48/Sociology). ASU tied for the conference lead with three combined first- and second-team honorees.
 
The eight awards ties the school record for most student-athletes on the Pac-12's All-Academic Team. The 2006-07 team also had eight (two on first team, one on second team and five honorable mention).

 

Student Athlete / Pac-12 All-Academic Team	Year	GPA	Major
Jamie Ruden / First Team	So.	4.00	BS Psychology
Sabrina Haines / Second Team	Jr.	3.75	BA Sports Journalism
Robbi Ryan / Second Team	So.	3.78	BS Psychology
Courtney Ekmark / Honorable Mention	RJr.	3.24	JD Juris Doctor of Law
Kianna Ibis / Honorable Mention	Jr.	3.42	BA Interdisciplinary Studies
Charnea Johnson-Chapman / Honorable Mention	Jr.	3.42	BS Family and Human Development
Reili Richardson / Honorable Mention	So.	3.32	BS Finance
Kiara Russell / Honorable Mention	So.	3.48	BS Sociology

 
Since the 1996-97 season, head coach Charli Turner Thorne's first season at ASU, the Sun Devils lead the Pac-12 in the number of first-team All-Academic conference awards (now 22) and the combined number of first- and second-team All-Academic conference awards (now 46). Last year with a combined GPA of 3.672 ASU finished fifth in the nation (the highest ranking in program history) among Division I institutions in the WBCA's annual Academic Top 25. ASU's No. 5 finish represented the second time in three seasons the Sun Devils were 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.

The Sun Devils (No. 7 seed in Kansas City Region) will open play in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday (2:30 p.m. CT/12:30 p.m. PT) when they take on Nebraska (No. 10 seed) in the first round at the University of Texas' Erwin Center in Austin, Texas. The Sun Devils are making their school-record-tying fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The game can be seen on ESPN2 and heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060.