WHEN: Friday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT
WHERE: Haas Pavilion • Berkeley, Calif.
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Arizona/Bay Area
RADIO: NBC Sports Radio AM 1060/TuneIn
LIVE STATS: Click here
UP NEXT
The No. 17 Arizona State women's basketball team will try and maintain its current top-four standing in Pac-12 play when it travels to the Bay Area for contests against Cal (Friday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT) and No. 7 Stanford (Sunday at 1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT).
In addition to wanting to improve their NCAA Tournament resume, also at stake for the Sun Devils the last two weekends of the regular season 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.
Winners of their last five games, the Sun Devils (18-6, 9-4 Pac-12) come into this weekend's games in fourth place in the Pac-12 standings. ASU is half a game ahead fifth-place UCLA (16-10, 9-5) and 2.5 games in front of Utah (18-7, 7-7) and Arizona (17-8, 7-7). No. 2 Oregon (24-2, 13-1) currently leads the way followed by No. 7 Stanford (21-4, 11-3) and No. 12 Oregon State (21-5, 11-3), who are tied for second place. After Friday's game at Cal, ASU will conclude the regular season with games against the aforementioned top three teams: at Stanford, vs Oregon State and vs. Oregon.
Friday's game is a rematch of ASU's 62-61 win vs. Cal on Jan. 13. Kianna Ibis led ASU with 26 points, connecting on 75 percent of her FGs (9-12), including a career-high four 3-pointers in a contest that was a back-and-forth battle featuring 13 ties and 18 lead changes with neither team leading by more than six points. Reili Richardson hit the go-ahead free throw with 4.9 seconds left and then helped foil Cal's attempt to win the game at the other end of the floor. Robbi Ryan added seven points and Sophia Elenga, Reili Richardson and Charnea Johnson-Chapman accounted for six points each for the Sun Devils.
LAST WEEK
ASU collected wins over Colorado (66-49 on Friday) and Utah (60-58 on Sunday). Courtney Ekmark (14.5 ppg) and Kianna Ibis (14.0 ppg/9.0 rpg) both averaged double figures in scoring in the two wins. ASU went from leading all but 3:13 of its game vs. Colorado to leading for less than one second – the final second – of its game against Utah as the Sun Devils overcame an 18-point deficit by closing the game with a 20-0 run over the last 7:45 of regulation. Robbi Ryan scored 10 of her 11 points in the fourth quarter against the Utes. Last week's contests represented ASU's first two-game weekend since the last weekend of January due to consecutive one-game weekends, one planned – rematch vs. Arizona on Feb. 1 -– and one unplanned – game at Washington on Feb. 9 was canceled due to inclement weather in Seattle (the game will not be made up).
COVERAGE
Friday's game can be seen on Pac-12 Arizona/Bay Area (Kate Scott/Layshia Clarendon). 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 7:30 p.m. MT). Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona's 2010 and 2018 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 15th season as the voice of ASU women's basketball.
RANKINGS/RPI/BRACKETOLGY
• After last week's wins over Colorado and Utah, the Sun Devils moved up two spots in both the AP (No. 17) and USA TODAY coaches (No. 15) polls.
• The Sun Devils have bounced between 13th and 18th in the NCAA RPI since defeating then-unbeaten Utah on Jan. 4. They were listed at No. 14 on Feb. 20.
• ESPN.com's Charlie Creme has the Sun Devils listed as a No. 5 seed in his most recent Bracketology update on Feb. 19 (unchanged since Jan. 28). He previously had ASU as a No. 3 seed on Jan. 21, prior to ASU's last loss vs. UCLA (Jan. 25).
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• As of Feb. 20, ASU is ranked among the nation's top 30 in fewest TOs per game (12th/12.3), assist-TO ratio (16th/1.31), rebound margin (24th/+7.6) and scoring defense (30th/56.8 ppg - first in the Pac-12).
• ASU's current 5-game winning streak represents the 25th time since 2004 that it has had a winning streak of 5 or more games. In last 5 games it has allowed opponents to score only 51.8 ppg and shoot only 35.4 pct (23.9 pct. of 3ptrs).
• 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 (17.0 ppg/11th), rebounds (7.7 rpg/10th) and FG pct. (47.5/13th). Ibis, who has scored 20 or more points 6 times this season, has averaged 16.0 ppg/8.2 rpg during ASU's current 5-game winning streak
• Currently No. 2 on the team in scoring (10.3 ppg), senior G Courtney Ekmark has knocked down 3 or more 3-pointers 9x this season. She is currently No. 10 on ASU's career 3-pointers list with 107.
• Junior G Reili Richardson is No. 3 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in assist-to-TO ratio. Currently with 402 career assists, Richardson is in 4th place on ASU's all-time list for career assists. She needs 40 more for third place (442/Jodi Rathbun – 1983-86), 82 more for second place (483/Elisha Davis – 2013-16) and 133 to surpass current assistant coach Briann January (534/2006-09) for the top spot.
• ASU has held opposition to 12 or fewer points in a quarter 33x this season (single digits 19x) 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 (12x), Courtney Ekmark (9x), Sophia Elenga (2x), Jamie Ruden (1x), Reili Richardson (1x) and Charnea Johnson-Chapman (1x).
• ASU has knocked down 8 or more 3-pointers 7x, something it did 4x last season.
• ASU has had 10 or fewer turnovers 7x this season.
• ASU has had the same starting lineup – Richardson/Ryan/Ekmark/Ibis/Johnson-Chapman – in its last 53 games (going back to Nov. 25, 2017).
• ASU's bench has more than doubled opponents in points per game, 24.0-11.7.
• ASU is 5-2 this season in games decided by five points or less. It prevailed in its first road game at Arkansas 88-85 (Nov. 18). ASU came up short in its upset bid of No. 3 Louisville as the Cardinals made a hoop in the final seconds to escape with a 58-56 win at the South Point Thanksgiving Shootout (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 2OTs 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. On Feb. 17, the Sun Devils closed with a 20-0 run over the last 7:45 of regulation to erase an 18-point deficit and defeat the Utah 60-58.
• Although ASU is 1-4 in its five games against top 10 teams, each of the 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 CAL
• ASU has faced Cal more than any other team since 2005-06 (30x - ASU 17-13). That stretch includes 5 meetings in the Pac-12 Tournament, most recently 2016 quarterfinal (Cal 75-64). ASU has won 7 of the last 8 meetings, including the last 5 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 had a career-high 11 assists in the first meeting (80-71 ASU in Tempe). Ekmark (12 points/8 rebs) and Ibis (11 points/8 rebs) combined for 23 points and 16 rebounds to help ASU win the rematch (57-42 in Berkeley).