WHEN: Sunday at 5 p.m. MT
WHERE: Wells Fargo Arena • Tempe, Ariz.
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Network/Arizona/Bay Area
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060/TuneIn
LIVE STATS: http://statbroadcast.com/broadcast/?id=233902
TICKETS: Click here to purchase
PROMOTION: Sun Devil WBB will be hosting its annual Snow Day! Enjoy playing in the snow, music, and complimentary hot chocolate in the Arboretum (NE side of the arena) starting at 3:30 pm! The team will also bring awareness to pediatric cancer by wearing gold laces. Wear your gold Sun Devil gear to help support the cause.
UP NEXT
The No. 19 Arizona State women's basketball team (11-4, 2-2 Pac-12) will look for a weekend split on Sunday when it hosts No. 24 Cal (10-4, 1-2) at Wells Fargo Arena. Sunday's game is the second of four consecutive contests in which the Sun Devils are facing a Top 25 opponent. On Friday night ASU fell to sixth-ranked Stanford 72-65. Next weekend the Sun Devils will travel to Oregon for contests against No. 5 Oregon and No. 10 Oregon State.
Last weekend's games at Utah/Colorado concluded a stretch in which ASU played five of six games away from home. A 70-39 win at Colorado State (Dec. 9) was followed by a 65-51 triumph over Kansas State (Dec. 16) in a game that was contested in La Crosse, Wisc. ASU's only home game in that span, a 68-52 win over Fresno State (Dec. 20), gave the Sun Devils a seven-game winning streak going into the Pac-12 play. ASU had its winning streak snapped at Arizona (51-39 on Dec. 30) before rebounding with last weekend's wins. ASU had won nine of 10 games before Friday's setback against Stanford.
LAST GAME
Despite a career-high-tying 16-point performance from senior Charnea Johnson-Chapman and a 50-percent shooting effort in the second half, ASU came up short in its attempt to knock off sixth-ranked Stanford as the Sun Devils fell to the Cardinal 72-65 on Friday night. Courtney Ekmark and Robbi Ryan scored 11 points each for the Sun Devils, who nearly came back from a 12-point halftime deficit. Friday's outcome represented the third instance of the season in which the Sun Devils nearly pulled off an upset over a Top 10 squad. Combined with their losses to current No. 4 Baylor (65-59) and current No. 2 Louisville (58-56), the Sun Devils have fallen to three of the nation's top six teams by a combined 15 points.
COVERAGE
Sunday's game can be seen on Pac-12 Network/Arizona/Bay Area (Krista Blunk/Mary Murphy). It can also be heard on NBC Sports Radio AM 1060 and on the Sun Devil Sports Network's TuneIn Channel (pregame coverage will start at 4:30 p.m. MT). Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona's 2010 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 15th season as the voice of ASU women's basketball. He will be joined by former ASU head coach Maura McHugh.
RANKINGS/RPI
After occupying the No. 17 spot in the AP poll for four straight weeks, ASU dropped five spots after dropping its conference opener on Dec. 30. It rebounded to 19th following its wins last weekend at Utah and Colorado. ASU is also No. 19 in the USA TODAY Sports Top 25 women's basketball coaches' poll. The Sun Devils were ranked 23rd in the preseason AP poll, one of five Pac-12 teams – No. 3 Oregon, No. 7 Stanford, No. 8 Oregon State, No. 24 Cal – that were ranked, marking the third-straight year the conference has had five teams in the preseason poll... After its win over previously unbeaten Utah, the Sun Devils moved into the No. 13 spot in the NCAA RPI (Jan. 5). They fell two spots to No. 15 the day after their loss to Stanford.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• ASU is currently ranked among the nation's top 25 in... rebounding margin (16th/+9.4), fewest turnovers per game (17th/13.1), scoring defense (18th/55.3 ppg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (18th/1.27).
• ASU has held the opposition to 12 or fewer points in a quarter 23x this season (single digits 14x) and outrebounded the opposition in all but one game (vs. Baylor).
• ASU has had 6 different players lead/tie for the team lead in scoring: Kianna Ibis (6x), Courtney Ekmark (5x), Sophia Elenga (2x), Jamie Ruden (1x), Reili Richardson (1x) and Charnea Johnson-Chapman (1x).
• Kianna Ibis has scored in double figures in all but 2 games this season. Her 27-point effort at Colorado (Jan. 6) represents the most points scored by a Sun Devil this season.
• Senior posts Charnea Johnson-Chapman (44-77/57.1) and Sophia Elenga (38-71/53.5) have combined to shoot 55.4 percent (82-148) from the floor.
• ASU has knocked down nine or more 3-pointers six times this season, something it accomplished twice all last season.
• ASU's bench has more than doubled the opposition in points per game, 27.1-11.5.
• ASU has won 83.9 percent of its home games (73-14) going back to the 2013-14 season, including a 13-3 mark last season. On average ASU outscored the opposition 72.4-53.2 at home in 2017-18.
• ASU is 2-1 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 current 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 at Utah.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS CAL
ASU has faced Cal more times than any other team since the 2005-06 season (29x - ASU 16-13). That stretch includes five meetings in the Pac-12 Tournament, most recently the 2016 quarterfinal matchup won by Cal, 75-64. The Sun Devils have won six of their last seven meetings with Cal, including the last four in a row. Kianna Ibis (18.5 ppg), Jamie Ruden (11.5 ppg) and Robbi Ryan (11.0 ppg) averaged double figures in scoring in last year's wins. Ibis scored a game-high 26 points and Reili Richardson dished out a career-high 11 assists in the first game won by the Sun Devils 80-71 in Tempe. Ekmark (12 points, eight rebounds) and Ibis (11 points, eight rebounds) combined for 23 points and 16 rebounds to help ASU win the rematch in Berkeley, 57-42.