TEMPE, Ariz. – Arizona State women's basketball senior forward Ja'Tavia Tapley was named the Pac-12 Player of the Week on Monday for her performances in ASU's upsets over the weekend of No. 2 Oregon and No. 3 Oregon State.
Tapley led ASU in scoring (15.0 ppg), rebounds (6.0 rpg) and field goal percentage (48.0) in the two wins. She scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in Friday's win over Oregon. Two days later, Tapley led all players with 14 points and six more rebounds in ASU's win over No. 3 Oregon State. In addition to her accomplishments on the offensive end, Tapley was part of an ASU defensive effort that held the Ducks and their top-ranked offense 23.5 points below their scoring average in Friday's win. On Sunday, ASU kept the Beavers nearly 30 points below their scoring average of 76.5 points coming into the game.
Tapley, who was also named the espnW National Player of the Week, currently leads ASU in scoring (11.9 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and free throws made (41) and attempted (63), is second in steals (1.3 spg), third in field goal percentage (49.1) and fourth in assists (1.6 apg).
ASU's wins over the weekend were historically significant. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the last time an NCAAW team defeated AP Top-5 teams in consecutive games was Notre Dame in the 2017-2018 NCAA Tournament (1 UConn, 4 Mississippi State). The last time it happened in the regular season was when Stanford defeated No. 4 Xavier on Dec. 28. 2010 and then No. 1 UConn on Dec. 30. An unranked team has not accomplished the feat in at least the last 20 seasons. ASU came into this week's action receiving votes in both of the major polls however has not been ranked since the second week of the season. Earlier on Monday, it was announced the Sun Devils are No. 18 in this week's AP poll.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a trip to the Pacific Northwest for games at Washington (Friday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT) and at Washington State (Sunday at noon PT/1 p.m. MT). Both games can be seen on Pac-12 Networks and heard on KDUS AM 1060.
Tapley led ASU in scoring (15.0 ppg), rebounds (6.0 rpg) and field goal percentage (48.0) in the two wins. She scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds in Friday's win over Oregon. Two days later, Tapley led all players with 14 points and six more rebounds in ASU's win over No. 3 Oregon State. In addition to her accomplishments on the offensive end, Tapley was part of an ASU defensive effort that held the Ducks and their top-ranked offense 23.5 points below their scoring average in Friday's win. On Sunday, ASU kept the Beavers nearly 30 points below their scoring average of 76.5 points coming into the game.
Tapley, who was also named the espnW National Player of the Week, currently leads ASU in scoring (11.9 ppg), rebounding (7.1 rpg) and free throws made (41) and attempted (63), is second in steals (1.3 spg), third in field goal percentage (49.1) and fourth in assists (1.6 apg).
ASU's wins over the weekend were historically significant. According to ESPN Stats & Info, the last time an NCAAW team defeated AP Top-5 teams in consecutive games was Notre Dame in the 2017-2018 NCAA Tournament (1 UConn, 4 Mississippi State). The last time it happened in the regular season was when Stanford defeated No. 4 Xavier on Dec. 28. 2010 and then No. 1 UConn on Dec. 30. An unranked team has not accomplished the feat in at least the last 20 seasons. ASU came into this week's action receiving votes in both of the major polls however has not been ranked since the second week of the season. Earlier on Monday, it was announced the Sun Devils are No. 18 in this week's AP poll.
Up next for the Sun Devils is a trip to the Pacific Northwest for games at Washington (Friday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT) and at Washington State (Sunday at noon PT/1 p.m. MT). Both games can be seen on Pac-12 Networks and heard on KDUS AM 1060.