TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona State women's basketball team (20-10, 10-7 Pac-12/fifth place) earned a No. 5 seed in the Portland Region and will open up NCAA Tournament play against the No. 12 seed UCF (26-6, 13-3 AAC) on Friday at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla. The game will be televised by ESPN2.
The Sun Devils are making a school record sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The winner of the ASU-UCF game will play the winner of the matchup between No. 4 seed Miami and No. 13 seed FGCU on Sunday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.
This is the program's 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament (14th under the direction of head coach Charli Turner Thorne).
ASU's overall record in the NCAA Tournament is 19-16 (17-13 record under Turner Thorne). ASU has advanced past the first two rounds four times during Turner Thorne's tenure ('05, '07, '09, '15).
Sun Devil WBB NCAA Tournament Notes
• ASU has won at least one game in 11 of its last 12 NCAA appearances (2002, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18).
• ASU's current run of six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2014-19) is a new school record.
• Last season ASU (No. 7 seed) went 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Nebraska in the first round before falling to Texas (No. 2 seed) in the second round.
• In 2017, ASU traveled to Columbia, S.C., as the No. 8 seed and defeated Michigan State in the first round before handing eventual national champion South Carolina its biggest scare of the tournament in the second round. The Sun Devils led by as many as 11 in the third quarter and by one in the final minute before falling 71-68.
• ASU's No. 2 seed in 2016 represented its highest in program history. Prior to 2016 the highest seed it ever received was No. 3 (2007, 2015). The Sun Devils defeated No. 15 New Mexico State at home before being upset by No. 7 Tennessee in the second round.
• Prior to its first Elite Eight berth in 2007, the furthest ASU had reached was the round of 16 (1982, 1983 and 2005). In both 1982 and `83, ASU lost to the eventual national champion in the round of 16 (Louisiana Tech in 1982 and USC in 1983).
• ASU's first NCAA appearance in the Turner Thorne era came in 2001. As the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region, ASU fell to No. 6 LSU in the first round. Turner Thorne earned her first victory in the NCAA Tournament in 2002 after the Sun Devils (No. 9) defeated Wisconsin (No. 8) in the first round of the Midwest sub-regional, 73-70. ASU would fall to the top seed, Vanderbilt, in the second round, 61-35.
• As the No. 5 seed in the Tempe Region in 2005 ASU advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 22 years after defeating No. 4 seed Notre Dame, 70-61. In that game ASU overcame a 13-point, first-half deficit. In the Sweet 16 against North Carolina, ASU led by as many as 10 points and was within two points, 62-60, with 9:29 remaining before the Tar Heels closed out the game with a 17-12 run.
• ASU earned a No. 3 seed in the Greensboro Region in 2007 and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history on its way to posting a school record 31 wins. ASU denied the upset bids of No. 14 Riverside (first round) and No. 6 Louisville (second round), overcoming double-digit deficits in the final 10 minutes of both games before defeating Bowling Green (67-49) in the Sweet 16. ASU's season ended with a 64-45 loss to Rutgers in the regional final.
• In 2009, ASU (a No. 6 seed in the Trenton Region) earned its second Elite Eight berth in three years. ASU defeated No. 11 Georgia and No. 3 Florida State in Duluth, Ga., before knocking off the No. 2 seed, Texas A&M, in the regional semifinal in Trenton, N.J. ASU was defeated by eventual national champion UConn in the Trenton Regional final.
• After a three-year absence, ASU returned to 'The Big Dance,' in 2014. As a No. 9 seed, ASU defeated No. 8 seed Vanderbilt, 69-61 in the first round, before falling to the top seed in the region, Notre Dame, 84-67. Both
The Sun Devils are making a school record sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
The winner of the ASU-UCF game will play the winner of the matchup between No. 4 seed Miami and No. 13 seed FGCU on Sunday for the right to advance to the Sweet 16.
This is the program's 17th appearance in the NCAA Tournament (14th under the direction of head coach Charli Turner Thorne).
ASU's overall record in the NCAA Tournament is 19-16 (17-13 record under Turner Thorne). ASU has advanced past the first two rounds four times during Turner Thorne's tenure ('05, '07, '09, '15).
Sun Devil WBB NCAA Tournament Notes
• ASU has won at least one game in 11 of its last 12 NCAA appearances (2002, '05, '06, '07, '08, '09, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18).
• ASU's current run of six consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances (2014-19) is a new school record.
• Last season ASU (No. 7 seed) went 1-1 in the NCAA Tournament, defeating Nebraska in the first round before falling to Texas (No. 2 seed) in the second round.
• In 2017, ASU traveled to Columbia, S.C., as the No. 8 seed and defeated Michigan State in the first round before handing eventual national champion South Carolina its biggest scare of the tournament in the second round. The Sun Devils led by as many as 11 in the third quarter and by one in the final minute before falling 71-68.
• ASU's No. 2 seed in 2016 represented its highest in program history. Prior to 2016 the highest seed it ever received was No. 3 (2007, 2015). The Sun Devils defeated No. 15 New Mexico State at home before being upset by No. 7 Tennessee in the second round.
• Prior to its first Elite Eight berth in 2007, the furthest ASU had reached was the round of 16 (1982, 1983 and 2005). In both 1982 and `83, ASU lost to the eventual national champion in the round of 16 (Louisiana Tech in 1982 and USC in 1983).
• ASU's first NCAA appearance in the Turner Thorne era came in 2001. As the No. 11 seed in the Midwest Region, ASU fell to No. 6 LSU in the first round. Turner Thorne earned her first victory in the NCAA Tournament in 2002 after the Sun Devils (No. 9) defeated Wisconsin (No. 8) in the first round of the Midwest sub-regional, 73-70. ASU would fall to the top seed, Vanderbilt, in the second round, 61-35.
• As the No. 5 seed in the Tempe Region in 2005 ASU advanced to the Sweet 16 for the first time in 22 years after defeating No. 4 seed Notre Dame, 70-61. In that game ASU overcame a 13-point, first-half deficit. In the Sweet 16 against North Carolina, ASU led by as many as 10 points and was within two points, 62-60, with 9:29 remaining before the Tar Heels closed out the game with a 17-12 run.
• ASU earned a No. 3 seed in the Greensboro Region in 2007 and advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history on its way to posting a school record 31 wins. ASU denied the upset bids of No. 14 Riverside (first round) and No. 6 Louisville (second round), overcoming double-digit deficits in the final 10 minutes of both games before defeating Bowling Green (67-49) in the Sweet 16. ASU's season ended with a 64-45 loss to Rutgers in the regional final.
• In 2009, ASU (a No. 6 seed in the Trenton Region) earned its second Elite Eight berth in three years. ASU defeated No. 11 Georgia and No. 3 Florida State in Duluth, Ga., before knocking off the No. 2 seed, Texas A&M, in the regional semifinal in Trenton, N.J. ASU was defeated by eventual national champion UConn in the Trenton Regional final.
• After a three-year absence, ASU returned to 'The Big Dance,' in 2014. As a No. 9 seed, ASU defeated No. 8 seed Vanderbilt, 69-61 in the first round, before falling to the top seed in the region, Notre Dame, 84-67. Both