WHEN: Sunday at 12 p.m. MST
WHERE: Desert Financial Arena • Tempe, Ariz. (Click for DFA traffic information)
TICKETS: Click here to purchase
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Bay Area/Pac-12 Now
RADIO: KDUS AM 1060
LIVE AUDIO: Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel
LIVE STATS: Click here
The No. 24 Arizona State women's basketball team concludes regular season play on Sunday (12 p.m. MST) when it hosts No. 4 Stanford at Desert Financial Arena. The Sun Devils will be looking for their third win over a Top 5 this season after upsetting then-No. 2 Oregon and then-No. 3 Oregon State in consecutive games back in January.
Sunday's game will be the final at home for seniors Reili Richardson, Jamie Ruden, Kiara Russell, Robbi Ryan and Ja'Tavia Tapley. All five players will be honored in a ceremony after Sunday's game. This year's senior class has led the Sun Devils to 84 wins and three NCAA Tournament appearances, including the Sweet 16 last year.
After competing in home-and-home contests with the same seven teams over the first eight weekends of Pac-12 play, ASU is near the end of a stretch in which it is facing the four Pac-12 teams it plays once to close out the season: at Colorado (W, 65-59 on Feb. 16), at Utah (L, 71-75 on Sunday), vs. Cal (77-54 on Friday), vs. Stanford (Sunday).
Jamie Ruden scored a game-high 18 points and tied a career-high with four 3-pointers to help ASU open the final weekend of the regular season with a 77-54 win over Cal on Friday night. Eboni Walker (11 points, career-high 13 rebounds, first career double-double) and Ja'Tavia Tapley (11 points) also scored in double figures while Reili Richardson (3-5 3FGs, game-high six assists) and Taya Hanson (2-3 3FGs) added nine points each. For the second time in as many games the Sun Devils tied a season high with 10 makes (10-17) from downtown. They also came out on top in rebounding (42-28) after being outrebounded in both contests last week.
Friday's win over Cal clinched the No. 5 seed for the Sun Devils (20-9, 10-7 Pac-12) in next week's Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. The Sun Devils will open play in the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday when it will once again face Cal. The four teams that will have first round byes for the tournament have already been decided (order may still change: No. 3 Oregon (27-2, 16-1), No. 4 Stanford (24-5, 13-4), No. 9 UCLA (24-4, 13-4), No. 13 Arizona (23-5, 12-5). Stanford started the week looking for a share of the Pac-12 regular season title but lost to Pac-12 champion Oregon on Monday. A second straight loss followed to Arizona in overtime, 73-72, on Friday night.
TV/RADIO
Sunday's game vs. Stanford will be televised by Pac-12 Bay Area. It can also be heard on KDUS AM 1060 and the Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel. Pregame coverage will start at 11:30 a.m. Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona's 2010 & 2019 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 16th season as the voice of ASU women's basketball. He'll be joined by former ASU head coach Maura McHugh.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS STANFORD (STANFORD LEADS 64-15 SINCE 1978-79)
Stanford has won seven of the last 12 meetings, including the last four in a row. 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 in 2017-18 (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). Stanford claimed both meetings last season: 72-65 in Tempe and 71-50 in Palo Alto.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• ASU recently clinched its seventh consecutive 20-win season. Next month the Sun Devils will be looking to make their seventh straight trip to NCAAs.
• ASU is currently ranked among the top 40 in the nation in O-rebs per game (18th/15.3 rpg) and rebound margin (30th/+7.1). Senior Reili Richardson is No. 12in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Earlier this season ASU became the first unranked team to defeat consecutive top five opponents when it upset then-No. 2 Oregon (72-66 on Jan. 10) and then-No. 3 Oregon State (55-47 on Jan. 12).
• Six of ASU's seven Pac-12 losses (79-48 loss at Oregon on Feb. 9 not included) have been by an average of 4.7 points. Two of those losses were two-point setbacks on the road: 68-66 at then-unbeaten and No. 10 UCLA on Jan. 3 and 64-62 at then-No. 9 Oregon State on Feb. 2.
• ASU has tied its season high in 3-pointers (10) in each of its last two games. ASU has made 56 percent of its triples (27-48) in its last three games.
• Richardson (currently with 553 career assists) broke Sun Devil great Briann January's career assists record (538 assists/2006-09) in ASU's win over Washington on Feb. 16. She has more assists than any ASU player (men's or women's).
• Ten of Richardson's 13 double-digit scoring efforts this season have come in the last 14 games. The stretch includes a career-high 24-point performance in ASU's triple OT win vs. USC (Jan. 31) in which Richardson scored 19 points in the 2nd half and OT, including the game-winning 3-pointer. In the last 9 games, Richardson, who needs 74 points to reach 1000 for her career, is averaging 15.1 ppg (leads team) and is shooting 48 percent (26-54) from long range.
• Twelve of senior G Robbi Ryan's 15 double-digit scoring games this season have come in the last 18 games. She has scored 17 or more points 5x during that sequence, including a career-high 25 points at Arizona (Jan. 24), the most points scored by an individual against Arizona this season.
• Graduate transfer Ja'Tavia Tapley has proven to be a difference maker for ASU. Tapley, who is Is shooting 57 percent (30-53) in the last 7 games, has played in every game (27 starts) and currently leads the team in scoring (11.7 ppg), rebounds (6.2) and free throws made (67) and attempted (108), is 2nd in steals (1.3 spg) and FG pct. (48.9) and 5th in assists (1.5 apg).
• ASU has outrebounded the opposition in all but 7 games: at USC, vs. ORE, vs. OSU, at ARIZ, at ORE, at COLO, at UTAH. It has scored 15 or more second chance points 10 times, including a season-high 32 vs. Army. Jayde Van Hyfte (88 of 152) & Eboni Walker (81 of 135) both have more offensive than defensive rebounds.
• ASU's success this season has been the product of a team effort as it has had eight different players who have led/tied for the team lead in scoring. Six Sun Devils have led/tied for the team lead in scoring multiple times: Tapley (8x), Ryan (7x), Richardson (7x), Walker (3x), Jamie Ruden (3x), Taya Hanson (2x).
• Ruden (7.3 ppg) and Walker (6.5 ppg) have been ASU's top players off the bench. Walker is the only Sun Devil shooting higher than 50 percent for the season (51.0). She is shooting 61 pct (22-36 FGs) from the floor in the last 7 games..
• ASU has had 15 or fewer turnovers 12x in its last 17 games.
• ASU has allowed 13 or fewer points in a quarter 51x (17x in single-digits). It has scored 20 or more points off turnovers nine times (9-0 in those games), including a season-high 36 vs. Army (Nov. 10).
SENIOR MOMENTS
ASU seniors Reili Richardson (16 points), Robbi Ryan (15 points), Ja'Tavia Tapley (eight points) and Jamie Ruden (seven points) were responsible for scoring all 46 of ASU's fourth-quarter points in its historic upsets of No. 2 Oregon (Jan. 10) and No. 3 Oregon State (Jan. 12). Ryan scored 11 of her team-high 17 points in the final period of the win over UO. Ruden added seven straight points late in the same quarter. Ruden also set the tone in the first quarter of the OSU win with seven straight to help ASU to a 13-4 lead. Tapley had six points in the final frame vs. OSU.
In ASU's comeback win at Washington State (Jan. 19), Ryan and Tapley tied for the team lead with 20 points each. In the second half, Sun Devil seniors were responsible for 39 of the team's 41 second half points in helping ASU rally from a 10-point deficit.
More recently, Ryan and Richardson have teamed up to give the Sun Devils one of the most formidable backcourts in the Pac-12. Twelve of her Ryan's 15 double-digit scoring efforts have come in the last 18 games. She has scored 17 or more points 5x during that stretch, including a career-high 25 points at Arizona (Jan. 24), the most scored against Arizona this season. Ten of Richardson's 13 double-digit scoring efforts this season have come in the last 14 games. In ASU's triple OT win over USC (Jan. 31), Richardson scored 19 of her career-high 24 points in the second half and overtime, including the game-winning 3-pointer. Against Washington State (Feb. 14), Richardson accounted for a team-high 22 points performance, including 13 in the final quarter of ASU's 62-59 win. With ASU down by six in the fourth quarter at Colorado (Feb. 21), Tapley scored 7 straight points. Richardson (7 points), Ryan (5 points) and Kiara Russell (1 point) then helped finish the 20-8 run (all 20 points scored by seniors) to close out the game in ASU's 65-59 win.
RICHARDSON SETS CAREER ASSISTS RECORD
One of the biggest reasons for ASU's outstanding execution on the offensive end over the last four seasons-plus is the play of senior guard Reili Richardson. In 2018, Richardson's exceptional play at the point helped the Sun Devils shatter the school record for fewest turnovers per game (11.3). Richardson concluded the 2017-18 season ranked No. 4 in the nation and first in the Pac-12 in assist-to-TO ratio (3.46). Last season Richardson led the team and finished 6th in the Pac-12 in assists (5.0 apg). In ASU's win over Washington on Feb. 16, Richardson passed former Sun Devil all-time great Briann January (538/2006-09) as ASU's career assists leader. Richardson currently has 553 career assists, the most of any ASU men's or women's player. In addition to her outstanding ability distributing the basketball, Richardson has recently been one of ASU's top scorers, leading the team in average points (15.1 ppg) in its last nine games. During that stretch she has connected on 48 percent (26-54) of her attempts from long range. Against Utah, Richardson hit a career-high six 3-pointers, one triple short of tying the single-game school record. She is in ninth place in ASU annals for both most career 3s (116) and most 3s in a season (53).
DOMINANT DEVIL DEFENSE
• Last season ASU led the Pac-12 in scoring defense (58.2 ppg) for the second straight season and the third time in five years.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 57.2 ppg since the start of the 2014-15 season (a span of 198 games). It has held the opposition to 50 or less points 60 times during that stretch (including six times this season). They are 59-1 in those contests (only loss came vs. Cal (50-49) on Feb. 8, 2015.
• The 31 points scored by Maine on Nov. 29, 2019 represented the fewest given up by ASU since Harvard scored 29 on December 14, 2015.
• In historical back-to-back wins vs. No. 2 Oregon (Jan. 10) and No. 3 Oregon State (Jan. 12), ASU held the Ducks and their top-ranked offense 23.5 points below their scoring average and kept the Beavers nearly 30 points below their scoring average of 76.5 points coming into the game. The two teams combined to shoot 18 percent (7-38) from the beyond the arc.