WHEN: Friday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT
WHERE: Maples Pavilion • Stanford, Calif.
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Network/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 closes out its road trip to the Bay Area on Sunday (1 p.m. PT/2 p.m. MT) when it plays at No. 7 Stanford.
In addition to wanting to improve their NCAA Tournament resume, also at stake for the Sun Devils the last three games 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.
The Sun Devils (18-7, 9-5 Pac-12) come into this Sunday's game in fifth place in the Pac-12 standings. ASU is half a game behind fourth-place UCLA (17-10, 10-5) and 1.5 games in front of sixth-place Utah (19-7, 8-7). Second-ranked Oregon (24-3, 13-2) currently leads the way followed by No. 7 Stanford (22-4, 12-3) and No. 12 Oregon State (22-5, 12-3), who are tied for second place. ASU will play each of the Pac-12's top three teams in its last three games of the regular season: at Stanford, vs. Oregon State, vs. Oregon.
Sunday's game is a rematch of Stanford's 72-65 win on Jan. 11 in Tempe. Charnea Johnson-Chapman tied her career high with 16 points while Courtney Ekmark and Robbi Ryan scored 11 points each for the Sun Devils, who nearly came back from a 12-point halftime deficit. After shooting only 28 percent in the first half, the Sun Devils came through with one of their best shooting and scoring quarters of the season as they made 67 percent of their shots and scored 25 points (tied for third most of the season), three more points than they were able to produce in the game's first 20 minutes. ASU got within one three times in the third quarter, but was never able to pull back even or reclaim the lead. Stanford was led by Alana Smith (25 points), DiJonai Carrington (17 points) and Kiana Williams (10 points), who combined for 52 of Stanford's 72 points. Stanford was also helped by its performance at the free throw line where it made all 14 of its attempts, including 10 in the second half
LAST GAME
The No. 17 Arizona State women's basketball team had its five-game winning streak snapped on Friday night, falling to Cal 69-60. Reili Richardson (12 points) and Courtney Ekmark (10 points) combined for 22 points for the Sun Devils, who were outscored by Cal 44-28 in the second half. Ekmark also led ASU in rebounds (nine) while Richardson had a team-high four assists. As a team, the Sun Devils had only eight turnovers for the game. They also outrebounded Cal 33-31, had a 14-9 advantage in second-chance points and outscored the Bears' bench 24-0 (Kiara Russell – eight points, Iris Mbulito – six points, Sophia Elenga – six points, Jamie Ruden – four points). Unfortunately for the Sun Devils, they simply could not get their shots to go in the second half as they made only 36 percent of their attempts over the final 20 minutes after connecting on 45 percent of their field goals in the first half. At the same point the Sun Devils were unable to sustain any offensive continuity, the Bears found their groove as they shot 60 percent in the second half.
COVERAGE
Sunday's game can be seen on Pac-12 Network/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 1:30 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. 16 on Feb. 22.
• 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. 23, ASU is ranked among the nation's top 35 in fewest TOs per game (11th/12.1), assist-TO ratio (17th/1.30), rebound margin (23rd/+7.4) and scoring defense (33rd/57.3 ppg - first in the Pac-12).
• During its recent five-game winning streak, ASU 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 3 games this season. In Pac-12 games she is among the top 15 in the league in scoring (16.0 ppg/15th) and rebounds (7.5 rpg/10th). Ibis, who has scored 20 or more points 6x this season, averaged 16.0 ppg/8.2 rpg during ASU's recent 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 108.
• Junior G Reili Richardson is No. 3 in the nation and leads the Pac-12 in assist-to-TO ratio. Currently with 406 career assists, Richardson is in 4th place on ASU's all-time list for career assists. She needs 36 more for third place (441/Jodi Rathbun – 1983-86), 77 more for second place (483/Elisha Davis – 2013-16) and 129 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 34x 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: Ibis (12x), Ekmark (9x), Elenga (2x), Ruden (1x), Richardson (2x), and 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 8x this season.
• ASU has had the same starting lineup – Richardson/Ryan/Ekmark/Ibis/Johnson-Chapman – in its last 54 games (going back to Nov. 25, 2017).
• ASU's bench has more than doubled opponents in points per game, 24.0-11.2.
• 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 STANFORD
• Although Stanford has dominated the all-time series, the two teams have been relatively even in recent years with Stanford winning six of the last 11 meetings. ASU swept the regular season series in 2014-15 (60-57 in Palo Alto/53-52 in Tempe) and 2015-16 (49-31 in Tempe/63-61-OT in Palo Alto). The 60-57 win at Stanford in Jan 2015 was ASU's first over the Cardinal since 2006 and the first at Stanford since 1984. Each team won on its home floor last season (ASU 73-66 in Tempe/Stanford 74-50 in the Bay Area) before meeting again in the semifinals of the Pac-12 Tournament (Stanford 58-46). Johnson-Chapman led ASU in points (10.0 ppg) and rebounds (7.7 rpg) in the 3 contests while connecting on 80 pct (12-15) of her FGs. She scored 12 of her career-high-tying 16 points in the 2nd half to help ASU win the first contest. Russell scored a career-high 12 points in the Pac-12 Tournament game.