WHEN: Thursday at 11:30 am PT/12:30 pm MT
WHERE: Mandalay Bay Events Center • Las Vegas, Nev.
TELEVISION: Pac-12 Network, Arizona, Bay Area/Pac-12 Now
RADIO: KDUS AM 1060
LIVE AUDIO: Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel
LIVE STATS: Click here
UP NEXT
The No. 24 Arizona State women's basketball team (20-10, 10-8 Pac-12/#5 seed) begins play in the Pac-12 Tournament on Thursday (11:30 a.m. PT/12:30 p.m. MT) when it faces Cal (11-18, 3-15 Pac-12/#12 seed) in the first of four first round games at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. The winner will face the No. 4 seed, No. 13 Arizona (23-6, 12-6 Pac-12), in the quarterfinals at the same time on Friday.
The Sun Devils come into this week's tournament already having extended their school record for consecutive 20-win seasons (seven). Over the next month they look to create even more special memories in a season that has already included several noteworthy accomplishments. Among them: Becoming the first unranked team to defeat consecutive Top-5 foes when they knocked off then-No. 2 Oregon (72-66) and then-No. 3 Oregon State (54-47) in January. That same month, ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne notched the 500th win of her illustrious career after ASU's triple overtime win over USC on Jan. 31. Last month, senior guard Reili Richardson passed former Sun Devil great Briann January to become the program's all-time career assists leader. Richardson, who currently has 557 career assists, passed former ASU men's player Derek Glasser last week to become the all-time career assists leader for all of ASU basketball (men or women).
Much of ASU's success this season can be attributed to the senior class – Richardson, F/C Jamie Ruden, G Kiara Russell, G Robbi Ryan and F Ja'Tavia Tapley – that accounted for 70 percent of ASU's scoring during Pac-12 play. Leading the way have been Ryan (All-Pac-12/coaches), Tapley (All-Pac-12 honorable mention/coaches and All-Pac-12/media), Richardson (All-Pac-12 honorable mention/coaches) and Russell (Pac-12 All-Defense honorable mention), who earlier this week were all recognized with Pac-12 honors.
Thursday's contest will be the second time in seven days that Cal and ASU have met. The Sun Devils were victorious in the only meeting of the season, 77-54, last Friday in Tempe. Ruden scored a game-high 18 points and tied a career-high with four 3-pointers to lead ASU. Freshman F Eboni Walker (11 points, career-high 13 rebounds) and Tapley (11 points) also scored in double figures while Richardson (3-5 3FGs, game-high six assists) and sophomore G Taya Hanson (2-3 3FGs) added nine points each.
Cal has proven to be a difficult assignment for several teams this season. Prior to last weekend, its near misses included a two-point loss to current No. 16 Kentucky (63-61) and a four-point, overtime loss to No. 8 UCLA (74-70). The Bears would capture their biggest win of the season last Sunday, upsetting Arizona 55-54 in Tucson.
TV/RADIO
Thursday's game will be televised by Pac-12 Network/Arizona/Bay Area (Ann Schatz, Tammy Blackburn, Jill Savage). It can also be heard on KDUS AM 1060 and the Sun Devil Athletics TuneIn Channel. Pregame coverage will start at 12 p.m. MST. 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.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS CAL (ASU LEADS 41-35 SINCE 1978-79))
ASU has faced Cal more than any other team since 2005-06 (32x - ASU 18-14). That stretch includes five meetings in the Pac-12 Tournament, most recently 2016 quarterfinal (Cal 75-64). ASU has won 8 of the last 10 meetings, most recently last Friday, 77-54 in Tempe. The two teams split last season: ASU 62-61 in Tempe and Cal 69-60 in Berkeley. Cal's win snapped ASU's 5-game winning streak in the series. Reili Richardson had a career-high 11 assists in the first meeting of the 2017-18 season.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• ASU is currently ranked among the top 40 in the nation in O-rebs per game (18th/15.3 rpg) and rebound margin (33rd/+6.6). Senior G Reili Richardson, who earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention recognition from the league's coaches, is No. 14 in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio.
• Over the last two seasons the Sun Devils are 14-4 when coming off a loss.
• Six of ASU's eight Pac-12 losses (79-48 loss at Oregon Feb. 9 and 55-44 loss to Stanford Mar. 1 not included) were 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 made 56 percent of its triples (27-48) in the three games prior to its 21-percent (3-14) outing vs. Stanford on Sunday. ASU tied its season high in 3-pointers (10) in consecutive game at Utah (Feb. 23) and vs. Cal (Feb. 28).
• Ten of Richardson's 13 double-digit scoring efforts this season have come in the last 15 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 10 games, Richardson, who needs 68 points to reach 1000 for her career, is averaging 14.2 ppg (leads team) and is shooting 46.4 pct (26-56) from long range.
• Thirteen of senior G Robbi Ryan's 16 double-digit scoring games this season have come in the last 19 games. Ryan, who earned All-Pac-12 honors from the league's coaches, 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 F Ja'Tavia Tapley has proven to be a difference maker for ASU. Tapley, named All-Pac-12 this week by media that cover the league, has played in every game (28 starts) and currently leads the team in scoring (11.5 ppg), rebounds (6.2) and free throws made (67) and attempted (108), is second in steals (1.3 spg) and FG pct. (48.1) and fifth in assists (1.5 apg).
• ASU has outrebounded the opposition in all but eight games: at USC, vs. ORE, vs. OSU, at ARIZ, at ORE, at COLO, at UTAH, vs. STAN. It has scored 15 or more second chance points 10 times, including a season-high 32 vs. Army. Sophomore F Jayde Van Hyfte (89 of 154) & freshman F Eboni Walker (84 of 141) both have more offensive than defensive rebounds. Senior G Kiara Russell, who earned Pac-12 Defense honorable mention recognition, is ASU's top rebounding guard (4.2 rpg). Russell has also led ASU in steals throughout the season (1.5 spg).
• 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 (8x), Richardson (7x), Walker (3x),senior F/C Jamie Ruden (3x), sophomore G 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 (51.6). She is shooting 61 percent (25-41 FGs) from the floor in the last eight games.
• ASU has had 15 or fewer turnovers 13x in its last 18 games.
• ASU has allowed 13 or fewer points in a quarter 53x (18x 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).