WHEN: Friday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT
WHERE: Pauley Pavilion • Los Angeles
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Los Angeles/Pac-12 Now
RADIO: KDUS AM 1060
LIVE AUDIO: Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel
LIVE STATS: Click here
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The Arizona State women's basketball team (10-3, 0-1 Pac-12) goes on the road for the first time in Pac-12 play when it travels to Los Angeles for games at No. 10 UCLA (Friday at 7 p.m. PT/8 p.m. MT) and at USC (Sunday at 2 p.m. PT/3 p.m MT).
The Sun Devils are in the middle of the stretch in which they are facing four ranked opponents in the first five games of conference play. ASU started the stretch with a 58-53 loss to No. 18 Arizona (Dec. 30), which snapped ASU's season-best six-game winning streak. After this weekend's road trip, which includes Friday's game against the No. 10 Bruins, ASU will return home to face No. 2 Oregon (10-1) and No. 3 Oregon State (12-0).
In Sunday's loss to Arizona, Eboni Walker (12 points) and Jamie Ruden (10 points) both scored in double figures for the Sun Devils, who nearly overcame a nine-point deficit in the final five minutes however did not score in the game's final 1:06 after cutting Arizona's lead to a single point. Walker came through with ASU's best performance of the day as the freshman forward was one of only two Sun Devils who shot 50 percent or higher from the floor: Walker was 5-of-6 shooting while sophomore guard Iris Mbulito (seven points) was 3-of-6. Walker also added a career-high eight rebounds. Walker, Ruden and Mbulito combined for 29 of ASU's 33 bench points.
Despite the loss of key contributors to graduation/injury ASU was able to navigate its way to a 10-2 non-conference record. ASU closed non-conference play with six wins in a row, including a double-digit triumph over Creighton (70-55), which came into the game ranked No. 7 in the NCAA RPI.
ASU's success in non-conference play was the product of a team effort as the Sun Devils had seven different players who led or tied for the team high in scoring. During its recent six-game winning streak, they had seven players averaging between 6.3 - 10.7 ppg. And that does not include senior post Jamie Ruden, who scored 11 points in ASU's contest against Creighton, Ruden's first game back after missing nine games due to injury. As has been the case in years past, the Sun Devils have been especially effective both on the defensive end (19th in the nation in scoring defense) and at controlling the boards (third in the nation in offensive rebounds and fifth in rebounding margin).
UCLA (12-1, 1-0) is the second straight unbeaten opponent ASU will be facing. The Bruins are sixth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio, 15th in assists per game, 17th in offensive rebounds per game, 13th in turnover margin and 22nd in scoring defense. The Bruins defeated USC 83-59 in their Pac-12 opener on Sunday.
COVERAGE
Friday's game at UCLA will be televised by Pac-12 Los Angeles (Anne Marie Anderson, Maylana Martin Douglas). The game can also be heard on KDUS AM 1060 and the Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel. Pregame coverage will start at 7:30 p.m. MT. Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona's 2010 and 2019 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 16th season as the voice of ASU women's basketball.
SERIES NOTES/CONNECTIONS VERSUS UCLA
UCLA has won the last six meetings. The two teams met only once in the regular season each of the last two years with UCLA winning 71-63 in 2018 in LA and 61-59 last year in Tempe. UCLA also claimed a 73-69 win in the Pac-12 Tourney quarterfinals last March. ASU's 59-57 win in 2014 in Tempe snapped UCLA's eight-game winning streak in the series. ASU captured its second consecutive win in 2015 with a 68-56 win in LA. The two teams split in 2016 with the home team holding serve on its home court: ASU 65-61 in Tempe/UCLA 74-61 in LA. UCLA swept the season series in 2017 – 69-60 in LA and 55-52 in Tempe – and captured a third win in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tourney (77-68). First-year ASU assistant coach Nikki Blue had a decorated career at UCLA where she earned Pac-10 first-team honors four times and was named a WBCA All-American in 2006.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• Over the last two seasons, the Sun Devils are 11-1 when coming off a loss. The only time ASU lost consecutive games last season was on trip to the Bay Area where it fell at Cal (69-60) and at Stanford (71-50).
• The Sun Devils come into Friday's game ranked among the top 40 in the nation in offensive rebounds per game (3rd/17.9 rpg), rebound margin (5th/+13.5), 3-point FG percentage defense (17th/24.6) and scoring defense (19th/54.3).
• ASU is ranked among the top third in the Pac-12 in rebounding defense (1st/30.5 rpg), offensive rebounds per game (1st/17.9 rpg), rebounding margin (2nd/+13.5), 3-point FG percent defense (2nd/24.6), scoring defense (4th/54.3 ppg), steals (4th/10.5 spg) and turnover margin (4th/+3.3).
• ASU individual leaders in the Pac-12: Ja'Tavia Tapley: 9th in rebs/7.5 rpg, 10th in FT pct./64.2, 19th in scoring/12.0 ppg; Reili Richardson: 18th in the nation and 4th in the Pac-12 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.7); Jayde Van Hyfte: 2nd in offensive rebs/3.5 rpg, 15th in rebs/6.6 rpg; Eboni Walker: 5th in offensive rebs/2.9 rpg; Kiara Russell: t10th in steals (1.6 spg).
• On average, ASU's bench has outscored the opponent's reserves 29.2-9.3. Eboni Walker (8.0 ppg), Sara Bejedi (6.3 ppg) and Iris Mbulito (4.5 ppg) combined to average 18.8 ppg during ASU's recent six-game winning streak. Walker is averaging 9.0 points and shooting 69 percent (18-26 FGs) in ASU's last five games. That stretch includes a career-high 13 points at New Mexico State (Dec. 18) and most recently a 12-point, career-high eight-rebound effort vs. Arizona (Dec. 30).
• ASU has outrebounded all 13 of its opponents. It has scored 15 or more second chance points five times, including a season-high 32 vs. Army.
• ASU has allowed 13 or fewer points in quarter 25x (13x in single-digits).
• Graduate transfer Ja'Tavia Tapley has proven to be a dominant presence thus far. She has played in every game (11 starts) and currently leads the team in scoring (12.0 ppg), rebounds (7.5) & free throws made (34)/attempted (53), is 2nd in steals (1.4 spg), 3rd in FG pct. (49.6) and 4th in assists (1.8 apg). Tapley, who had a streak of three straight double-doubles last month, pulled down a career-high 18 rebounds in ASU's win over BYU (Dec. 6), the highest single-game rebound total in more than 20 years.
• Senior guard Reili Richardson is currently in 2nd place on ASU's all-time list for career assists (499). She needs 36 assists to pass Briann January and become ASU's all-time assists leader (534/2006-09). During ASU's recent six-game winning streak, Richardson averaged 10.3 ppg & connected on 42 percent (14-33) of her 3-ptrs.
• With senior post Jamie Ruden's return from injury in ASU's contest vs. Creighton (Dec. 20), Charli Turner Thorne had every player on ASU's roster available to play for the first time this season. After starting the first two games, Ruden missed ASU's next nine games, including its losses at Minnesota and vs. Purdue. Senior guards Kiara Russell (two games) and Robbi Ryan (1.5 games) and sophomore guard Jamie Loera (10 games) also missed time due to either injury or illness.