WHEN: Friday at 6 p.m. MT
WHERE: Wells Fargo Arena • Tempe, Ariz.
LIVE STREAM: https://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060/TuneIn
LIVE STATS: Click here
TICKETS: Click here
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS: Friday's game vs. Colorado is the program's annual Pink Game for Breast Cancer Awareness. To support the cause, fans are encouraged to join the team in wearing pink. It's also Canada Night featuring a postgame Q&A and group photo with freshman guard Taya Hanson who hails from Kelowna, BC. This exclusive opportunity is only available to fans who purchase via this special offer. On Sunday the team will sport brand new adidas Harlem Renaissance Collection uniforms in honor of their Black History Month Celebration game. Kids eighth grade and younger receive free admission to Sunday's game for Sunday Funday.
UP NEXT
After a pair of one-game weekends, the No. 19 Arizona State women's basketball team begins the final third of its Pac-12 schedule on Friday (6 p.m. MT) when it hosts Colorado in the team's annual Pink Game for Breast Cancer Awareness. The Sun Devils (16-6, 7-4 Pac-12) will try and extend their winning streak to four games against a Colorado squad (11-12, 1-11) that is coming off a win at home over USC on Sunday.
The Sun Devils returned from last week's trip to Washington having played only of the two contests they were scheduled to participate in over the weekend . After starting the road trip with a 61-46 win over Washington State last Thursday, the Sun Devils were informed that their Feb. 9 game at Washington was canceled due to inclement weather that was expected in the Seattle area.
Because of the cancelation, and by virtue of playing a single contest against Arizona the week before, the Sun Devils will come into Friday's game having played only two games since the start of the month. The last time ASU played only six games in the month of February – the number it will have ended up playing – was the 1985-86 season, the year before the start of the Pac-10/12 era for women's basketball.
The Sun Devils come into this weekend's action in fifth place in the Pac-12 standings. ASU is half a game behind fourth-place UCLA (15-9, 8-4) and half a game in front of Sunday's opponent, Utah (18-5, 7-5). No. 3 Oregon (23-1, 12-0) currently leads the way followed by No. 9 Oregon State (20-4, 12-2) and No. 10 Stanford (19-4, 9-3).
In addition to wanting to improve their NCAA Tournament resume, also at stake for the Sun Devils the next three weeks is trying to secure a bye – awarded to the top four teams in the final Pac-12 regular season standings – in next month's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. After Friday's game, ASU will conclude the regular season with five straight games against teams currently among the top seven in the conference: vs. Utah (sixth), at Cal (seventh), at Stanford (third), vs. Oregon State (second) and vs. Oregon (first).
Friday's game is a rematch of ASU's 76-70 win at Colorado on Jan. 6. Kianna Ibis scored 27 points to lead the Sun Devils, who hit 54.5 percent of their shots (24-44) over the last 30 minutes of the game after finding the mark on just 30 percent of their shots in the first quarter. Kiara Russell (nine points), Charnea Johnson-Chapman (eight points, six rebounds), Robbi Ryan (eight points, five rebounds), Sophia Elenga (seven points) and Courtney Ekmark (seven points) also produced solid offensive outings for ASU.
LAST GAME
Led by Kianna Ibis (22 points) and Robbi Ryan (13 points), ASU won its third straight game with a 61-46 win over Washington State last Thursday. The Sun Devils overcame a slow start in the first half, outscoring the Cougars 34-18 over the final 20 minutes. In the final two quarters ASU hit 60 percent of its shots while holding Washington State to only 19 percent. Ryan's 13 points tied her season high as the junior guard hit 5-8 FGs and tied her career high with a trio of triples. Jamie Ruden, who came into the game having hit 60 percent of her shots in ASU's last five games, matched her recent standard, scoring seven points on 3-5 shooting. Ibis and Charnea Johnson-Chapman tied for the team lead with eight rebounds each while Iris Mbulito had a career-high seven boards and tied her career mark with five assists.
COVERAGE
Friday's game can viewed via live stream at https://pac-12.com/live/arizona-state-university. It can also be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and TuneIn. Vince Marotta and Maura McHugh will have the call starting at 6 p.m. MT.
RANKINGS/RPI/BRACKETOLGY
• After last week's win over Washington State, the Sun Devils moved up one spot for the second straight week to No. 19 in the AP poll and one spot to No. 17 in the USA TODAY Sports Top 25 women's basketball coaches' poll.
• The Sun Devils have bounced between 13th and 18th in the NCAA RPI since defeating Utah on Jan. 4. They were listed at No. 18 on Feb. 12.
• ESPN.com's Charlie Creme has the Sun Devils listed as a No. 5 seed in his most recent Bracketology update (unchanged since Jan. 28). He previously had ASU as a No. 3 seed on Jan. 21.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• As Feb. 12, ASU is ranked among the nation's top 40 in fewest TOs per game (11th/12.3), assist-TO ratio (15th/1.3), rebounding margin (27th/+7.5) and scoring defense (33rd/57.1 ppg - first in the Pac-12).
• The Sun Devils have won 84.0 percent of their games (76-15) at Wells Fargo Arena going back to the 2013-14 season.
• Senior All-Pac-12 post Kianna Ibis has scored in double figures in all but 2 games this season. In Pac-12 games she is among the top 15 in the league in scoring (17.5 ppg/11th), rebounds (7.5 rpg/10th) and FG pct. (50.0/t-9th). Ibis, who has scored 20 or more points six times this season, has averaged 20.5 ppg and 9.0 rpg in ASU's last two games.
• Currently No. 2 on the team in scoring (10.0 ppg), senior G Courtney Ekmark has knocked down 3 or more 3-pointers nine times this season.
• Junior G Reili Richardson is No. 3 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in assist-to-TO ratio. Currently with 394 career assists, Richardson is in sixth place on ASU's all-time list for career assists. She needs three more for fifth place (396/Ryneldi Becenti – 1991-93)/six more for fourth place (399/Kylan Loney – 2001-05).
• ASU has held opposition to 12 or fewer points in a quarter 30x this season (single digits 18x) and outrebounded the opposition all but 3x (vs. Baylor/vs. Cal/vs. UCLA).
• ASU has had 6 different players lead/tie for the team lead in scoring: Kianna Ibis (11x), Courtney Ekmark (8x), Sophia Elenga (2x), Jamie Ruden (1x), Reili Richardson (1x) and Charnea Johnson-Chapman (1x).
• ASU has knocked down 8 or more 3-pointers 7x this season, something it accomplished 4x all last season.
• ASU has had 10 or fewer turnovers 7x this season.
• ASU's bench has more than doubled opponents in points per game, 24.8-12.0. Junior forward Jamie Ruden is shooting 60 percent (15-25) and is fourth on the team in scoring (6.2 ppg) in ASU's last six games.
• ASU is 4-2 this season in games decided by five points or less. The Sun Devils prevailed in their first road game of the season at Arkansas 88-85 on Nov. 18. ASU came up short in its upset bid of No. 3 Louisville as the Cardinals make a basket in the final seconds to escape with a 58-56 win at the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout in Las Vegas on Nov. 23. ASU overcame a six-point deficit with an 8-0 run in the final 80 seconds of its 65-63 win at Utah (Jan. 4). ASU came up with a pair of defensive stops in the final seconds in its 62-61 win over Cal (Jan. 13). On Jan. 20 ASU went to double OT to upset then-No. 10 Oregon State, 79-76 in Corvallis. On Jan. 25 UCLA hit a 3-pointer with nine seconds left and the Sun Devils fell at home, 61-59.
• Although ASU is 1-4 in its five games against top 10 teams, each of the five contests was decided in the final minutes or OT. ASU nearly pulled off upsets over then-No. 4 Baylor (L, 59-65), then-No. 5 Louisville (L, 56-58), then-No. 6 Stanford (L, 55-62) and then-No. 5 Oregon (L, 71-77) losing the four games by a combined 21 points. On Jan. 20 ASU broke through with a 79-76 2OT win at then-No. 10 Oregon State.
NOTES VERSUS COLORADO
• The Sun Devils have won 11 of the last 13 meetings – including the last nine 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 won both meetings last season, coming out on top 72-47 in Boulder and 73-59 in Tempe. Sophia Elenga (17 points), Jamie Ruden (13 points) and Courtney Ekmark (11 points) combined for 41 points in the first meeting while Kianna Ibis (24 points) and Ekmark (16 points) were ASU's top scorers in the rematch... Former Sun Devil Alex Earl (2009-12) is an assistant coach on Colorado's staff.