THE GAME: Sun Devil WBB (9-5, 1-0 Pac-12) vs. Utah (9-5, 0-2 Pac-12 Pac-12)
WHEN: Sunday at 2 p.m. MST
WHERE: Desert Financial Arena • Click here for tickets
WATCH: Pac-12 Mountain (Cindy Brunson/Joan Bonvicini)
LISTEN: KDUS AM 1060 (Jeff Munn/Maura McHugh – pregame coverage starts at 1:30 pm)
LIVE STATS: Click here
UP NEXT
The Sun Devil women's basketball team will attempt to make it eight wins in nine games when it hosts Utah on Sunday (2 pm MST) at Desert Financial Arena. Sunday's contest will be the program's annual Keep the Beat game for Heart Health Awareness. Starting at 12 pm, Taste of Tempe – an event connected to the game in which local restaurants will be offering free healthy food – will be hosted on the north side of DFA. Click here to read more on why Sun Devil Women's Basketball started this annual event.
Coming off an unplanned period of just over three weeks without having played a game, ASU started Pac-12 play – the final Pac-12 team to start league play after having its first six conference games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols – with a 57-52 overtime upset of No. 22 Colorado on Friday. Taya Hanson scored a game-high 17 points and tied her career high with seven rebounds while Mael Gilles just missed her fourth double-double of the season (eight points, 11 rebounds) while adding a career-high five rejections for the Sun Devils (9-5, 1-0 Pac-12), who were playing without leading scorer Jade Loville.
Utah (9-5, 0-2) is tied with Oregon State (8-4, 1-1) for the second-fewest number of Pac-12 games played. The Utes won eight of their first 11 games before having their next four games postponed.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS UTAH
• ASU has won 11 of the last 14 meetings with five of the last seven contests between the two squads decided by four points less, including four games decided two points.
• Each team won on the other's home court last season. In the first meeting, Taya Hanson (15 points) and Jaddan Simmons (12 points) helped lead ASU to a 56-48, come-from-behind win in Salt Lake City. In the rematch, Utah made 51 percent of its shots, including 50 percent of uts triples (9-18) in a 64-51 win in Tempe.
• The Utes won the only meeting of the 2019-20 season, 75-71 in Salt Lake City. ASU lost despite tying a season-high with 10 triples. Former Sun Devil Reili Richardson knocked down a career-high six 3-pointers – one triple shy of tying the school record – and scored 22 points.
• In 2018-19, the Sun Devils swept the season series with a pair of dramatic come-from-behind wins, including the biggest comeback in school history when they scored 20 straight points to end the game and erase an 18-point deficit.
• ASU's eight-game winning streak over Utah was snapped after the Utes edged ASU 58-56 on Jan. 19, 2018 in Tempe. ASU won the front end of the 2017-18 series 83-81 in Salt Lake City (Dec. 31, 2017). Former Sun Devil Kianna Ibis had one of the best offensive days turned in by a Sun Devil in recent memory as she scored a career-high 30 points. Ibis became the first Sun Devils to score 30 or more points since Kylan Loney accomplished the feat vs. Arizona on January 31, 2004. Only current Sun Devil Jade Loville has scored more points since, accounting for 34 points in ASU's win at San Diego on Dec. 18.
STATE OF PLAY
• Through games played Jan. 21, ASU has an NCAA Net ranking of 43, one of seven Pac-12 teams in the Top 50 (Stanford - 3, Arizona - 10, Oregon - 12, Utah - 21, Colorado - 34, UCLA 42).
• In its last eight games (7-1 record) ASU is... averaging 69.3 ppg, shooting 44.1 pct and 34.9 pct 3FGs while allowing only 53.5 ppg. Each figure is a big improvement from ASU's first six games (2-4 record) when it... averaged 61.3 ppg (-8.0), connected on 37.4 pct of its FGs (-6.7), 26.2 pct 3FGs (-8.7) while giving up a respectable 57.5 ppg (+4.0).
• Two Sun Devils have started every game: Jaddan Simmons, Taya Hanson – both returning starters from last season's squad
• Simmons: Leads ASU in assists (3.1 apg/14th in Pac-12), steals (1.93 spg/7th in the Pac-12), assist-to-TO ratio (1.79/5th in Pac-12) and FTs made (40) and attempted (57).
• Hanson: Is 2nd on the team in 3-pointers/19), tied for 2nd in assists (2.5 apg) and third in steals (1.3 spg) and rebounds (3.7 rpg). Hanson scored a season-high 17 points and tied her career high with seven rebounds in ASU's OT win over No. 22 Colorado (Jan. 21).
• Transfers Jade Loville (Boise State) and Mael Gilles (graduate transfer from Rutgers) have both started all 13 games they have played in.
• Loville: Leads ASU in scoring (15.5 ppg/5th in Pac-12), 3-pointers (23/1.77 per game/11th in Pac-12), FG pct (47.5/6th in Pac-12) and 3-point FG pct. (48.9/1st in Pac-12). On Dec. 18, Loville became the fourth Sun Devil to score 30 or more points since 2000, as the 2021 All-Mountain West honoree dropped 34 points (most in the Pac-12 as of Jan. 21) in ASU's 79-60 win over San Diego. DNP for precautionary reasons in ASU's contest vs. Colorado (Jan. 21).
• Gilles: Currently paces the team in rebounds (8.4 rpg/1st in the Pac-12), offensive rebounds (2.7 rpg/3rd in Pac-12) and blocks (1.4 bpg/7th in Pac-12) and is 2nd in scoring (10.6 ppg) and steals (1.93 spg/8th in Pac-12) and tied for second in assists (2.5 apg). Gilles has three double-doubles and has just missed the feat in three other contests. Gilles has posted 11 or more rebounds five times this season. DNP for precautionary reasons in ASU's contest vs. Lipscomb (Dec. 30).
• Jayde Van Hyfte, the only Sun Devil on last season's roster to start every game in 2019-20, made her 2021-22 debut in the season's eighth game after not having played since the 2020-21 season opener. She has started every game she has played in – ASU's last seven games – and is shooting 75.0 pct (12-16 FGs) from the floor.
• After starting the first seven games, Maggie Besselink missed ASU's next six games due to injury. She returned to action vs. Colorado (Jan. 21). In per-game averages, Besselink is second on the team in rebounds (6.1 rpg) and is second in offensive rebounds (2.6 rpg). Her career-high 15 rebounds in the season's second game vs. Minnesota are the most by a Sun Devil this season. Besselink started 14 of the 18 games she played in last season and led the team in rebounds (5.7 rpg/16th in the Pac-12).
• Transfers Ayzhiana Basallo (two games) and Isadora Sousa (eight games) have also missed time due to injury. Basallo is currently second on the team in 3-point FG pct. (39.3) and is fourth in 3-pointers (11).
• Reserves Katelyn Levings (one start/4th on the team in rebounds - 3.5), Gabriela Bosquez (one start/shooting 83 pct from the line/10-12), Sydney Erikstrup (scored career-high eight points vs. Marist) and Imogen Greenslade (5th on the team in rebounds per game - 3.4) have all played in every game this season. Levings started all 22 games she was available to play in 2020-21 and finished third on the team in offensive rebounds (2.0 rpg) and fourth in both scoring (5.7 ppg) and rebounding (4.2 rpg).
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• A win on Sunday would give ASU its first five-game winning streak since January of 2020.
• As of Jan. 22, ASU is ranked among the top third in the Pac-12 in 3-pt FG pct. defense (2nd/28.0), scoring defense (3rd/27th in the nation/55.2 ppg) & offensive rebounds per game (3rd/13.93 rpg). ASU is 23rd in the nation in blocks per game (5.1 bpg/5th in the Pac-12).
• Currently with 976 career points – 775 points at Boise State and 201 points at ASU – Jade Loville needs 24 points to reach 1000 for her career. Loville's last seven games: 18.4 ppg, 53.9 FG pct. (48-89), 65.0 3FG pct (13-20), 83.3 FT pct. (20-24).
• The team's active career leader in 3-pointers (130/seventh place on ASU's all-time list), Taya Hanson needs two 3s to tie Briann January (132/2006-09) for sixth place, three to tie Betsy Boardman (133/2000-05) for fifth place and four to tie Crystal Cobb (134/1989-94) for fourth place and seven to tie Jill Noe (137/2003-08) for third place.
• Four players have led or tied for the team lead in scoring – Loville (6x), Simmons (4x), Hanson (4x), Gilles (3x).
• Defensively, ASU has given up 55 or fewer points nine times this season. In its win over 57-52 OT win over Colorado on Friday, ASU held CU nearly 18 points below its scoring average. Colorado's 52 points tied its lowest point total of the year. It needed the five additional minutes in overtime to reach that total as the Buffaloes had 46 points in regulation.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 57.1 ppg since the start of the 2014-15 season (a span of 238 games). It has held the opposition to 50 or less points 72 times during that stretch (68-4 in those contests).
• ASU has allowed 13 or fewer points in a quarter 31 times this season.
• Including its 8-5 record this season, ASU is 81-18 (.818) in non-conference, regular season games since 2013.
SEASON SUMMARY
• The first month of the season was punctuated by a challenging schedule for a team not only getting used to playing with one another, but also adjusting to the personnel it did not have due to injuries. After starting 2-4, the Sun Devils have responded with wins in seven of their last eight games.
• ASU opened the 2021-22 season splitting its first two contests, defeating Northern Colorado 71-41 (Nov. 9) before falling to Minnesota 66-59 in OT (Nov. 12). Loville (16.5 ppg) and Hanson (12.0 ppg) both averaged double figures in scoring in the two games. Gilles averaged 7.0 ppg, 5.0 rebs, 4.0 blocks and 3.0 steals. Besselink had a career-high 15 rebounds vs. Minnesota.
• Despite a strong defensive effort, ASU was not able to overcome shooting 30 percent in a 55-44 loss at BYU (Nov. 17).
• Coming off a 13-percent (3-24) outing from long rage at BYU, ASU came within one 3-pointer of tying the single-game school record after hitting 13 from downtown in an 82-53 win over Marist (Nov. 21). Ten of ASU's 13 triples came during a first half in which ASU shot a blistering 59 percent from beyond the arc.
• ASU went 1-2 at the Cancun Challenge played on Thanksgiving weekend. ASU started the tourney with setbacks against Houston (68-60) & No. 6 Baylor 62-52. In both contests, the Sun Devils fought back to get within single digits after trailing by double-figures. In the final of the three games it played in three days, ASU defeated Fordham 58-43. Simmons was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 13.7 points while connecting on 93 pct (13-14) of her free throws in the three games.
• ASU swept its home tournament, the ASU Classic, defeating UTSA (68-44) & Harvard (91-54) to extend its winning streak to three games. Loville (13.0 ppg), Gilles (11.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.5 spg) and Basallo (10.0 ppg, 3.0 apg) were ASU's top contributors in the wins. Gabriela Bosquez (career-high nine points) and Imogen Greenslade (career-high 11 rebounds) both had strong outings against Harvard.
• Despite a career-high 18 points from Gilles, the Sun Devils had their three-game winning streak snapped at Creighton, 69-62 (Dec. 12). ASU shot 47 pct for the game, its third straight contest shooting 45 pct or higher. ASU doubled up Creighton in scoring (24-12) in the third quarter to take a five-point lead going the final frame. Creighton outscored ASU 28-16 over the last 10 minutes – the most points scored by an ASU opponent in a quarter this season – to come back and claim the win.
• On Dec. 18, Loville became the fourth Sun Devil women's basketball player to score 30 or more points since 2000, as the 2021 All-Mountain West honoree dropped 34 points (most in the Pac-12 as of Dec. 28) in ASU's 79-60 win over San Diego.
• The Sun Devils were originally scheduled to open Pac-12 play with contests at UCLA (Dec. 31) and at USC (Jan. 2). On Dec. 24, it was announced the first half of ASU's road trip to Los Angeles had been postponed. ASU announced on Dec. 28 it reached an agreement to play Lipscomb on Dec. 30 in Tempe (ASU won 70-54). On Dec. 29, it was announced the second half of ASU's trip to the City of Angles would not be happening, either. ASU would go on to have its next four contests – vs. UW and WSU, at UO and OSU – postponed.
• Coming off an unplanned period of just over three weeks without having played a game, ASU started Pac-12 play – the final Pac-12 team to start league play after having its first six conference games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols – with a 57-52 overtime upset of No. 22 Colorado on Jan. 21.
WHERE WE STARTED
Entering her 25th season leading the Maroon and Gold, head coach Charli Turner Thorne welcomed back several talented returners, including veteran players G Taya Hanson (set school record for most 3-pointers per game last season) and F Jayde Van Hyfte (one of the team's top post performers who was forced to miss last season due to injury).
After showing several flashes of brilliance during its first year in Tempe, Turner Thorne's Top Five recruiting class – including G Jaddan Simmons (first Sun Devil freshman to average double figures in scoring since 2003) and posts Maggie Besselink (team's top rebounder last season) and Katelyn Levings (played in and started all but two games last season) – is poised to have an even bigger impact this season.
Add to that a quartet of outstanding transfers – seasoned Big Ten standout Mael Gilles, 2021 All-Mountain West performer Jade Loville, 2020 Mountain West Conference Newcomer of the Year Ayzhiana Basallo and two-time NJCCA All-American Isadora Sousa. Combining the talents of key returners with the infusion of new talent, Turner Thorne and the Sun Devils will look to feature a high-tempo offense to go with the signature, hard-nosed, pressuring defenses that Turner Thorne's teams have come to be known for over the years.
WELCOME TO TEMPE
ASU added a quartet of talented and experienced transfers in the offseason who head coach Charli Turner Thorne feels has the potential to have a major impact this season. Three of the four transferred in April with 2020 Mountain West Conference Newcomer of the Year Ayzhiana Basallo being the first to officially join the program. Basallo, a 5-5 guard who will have two years of eligibility, arrived at ASU from San Jose State where she earned her degree in communication earlier this year. In her only full season at San Jose State – did not play in 2018-19 due to NCAA transfer rules and SJSU's 2020-21 season was canceled after only four games due to COVID-19 – Basallo earned the Mountain West Conference's Newcomer of the Year award for a season in which she averaged a team-high 18.5 points per game while shooting 44.7 pct from the field, 45.4 pct from beyond the arc (school single-season record) and 92.5 pct at the free throw line (school single-season record).
Jade Loville, a 5-10 wing who earned All-Mountain West honors last season, joined ASU from Boise State. In 2020-21, Loville, who has two years of eligibility, scored in double figures 19 times last season, setting the school's single-game scoring record with 40 points at UNLV on Feb. 10, 2021. She scored 20 or more points nine times and was named the Mountain West Player of the Week after averaging 26.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in a two-game sweep of San Jose State (Dec. 31 and Jan. 2).
A 6-1 forward who originally came up through Canada's youth national teams Mael Gilles is using her fifth year of eligibility to play for ASU after spending the last four seasons with Rutgers (started 55 of 101 career games). Last season, Gilles averaged 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in helping Rutgers earn its highest seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2012. A starter in all 18 games she played in last season, Gilles notched six double-figure scoring efforts, including a season-high 16 points on two occasions.
In early June, ASU welcomed Isadora Sousa, a six-foot guard who played the last two seasons at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sousa has twice been named an NJCCA All-American – third team in 2020 and second team in 2021 – by World Exposure Report. She is coming off a campaign in which she earned FCSAA/NJCAA VIII All-State, All-Panhandle Conference first-team and FCSAA/NJCAA VIII All-Tournament Team honors in helping lead Chipola to its seventh FCSAA Championship and an appearance in the NJCAA Tournament semifinals.
One of the biggest challenges ASU faced last season was overcoming its youth/inexperience as out of 120 possible starts, 95 were made by freshmen (62) or upperclassmen who were first-year starters (33). In addition to the talent they brought, just as important is the experience as Gilles (56/104), Loville (87/23) and Basallo (60/33) brought a combined 224 games of NCAA D1 playing experience, including 139 starts.
YVONNE SANCHEZ JOINS CHARLI TURNER THORNE'S COACHING STAFF
Last April Yvonne Sanchez – a coach with more than 30 years of experience both as an assistant and head coach – joined Charli Turner Thorne's staff as assistant coach at ASU. Sanchez came to Tempe from the University of Michigan where she spent the last three seasons as assistant coach. While in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines won nearly 70 percent of their games and earned a pair of bids to the NCAA Tournament (Michigan would likely have also been a 2020 NCAA Tournament participant had the postseason not been canceled due to the pandemic). In 2021, the Wolverines earned their highest NCAA Tournament seed ever (No. 6) and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history with wins over No. 11 seed Florida Gulf Coast and No. 3 seed Tennessee. Michigan fell just short of its first Elite Eight after being edged by No. 2 seed Baylor in overtime, 78-75.
Sanchez was on staff at the University of New Mexico from 2000-2016, spending the last five seasons of her tenure as head coach. She amassed 77 victories as head coach and was named the 2014-15 Mountain West Coach of the Year after winning a school-record 14 conference games. In her first season as head coach, the Lobos reached the Mountain West Conference championship game. She would duplicate the feat in 2015 when the Lobos went 21-13. During her time as an assistant coach (2000-08) and associate head coach (2008-11), the Lobos won two Mountain West regular-season titles and five conference tournament crowns and made seven NCAA Tournament appearances. New Mexico won 239 games from 2000-2011, highlighted by the program's only NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, in 2003.
NEWS FROM SIGNING DAY
On Nov. 10, 2021, Charli Turner Thorne announced local superstar Trayanna Crisp, rated a four-star and Top 100 student-athlete by ESPN.com, signed a national letter of intent to study and play basketball at Arizona State.
A five-foot-eight combo guard who is rated No. 20 in the nation at her position by ESPN.com, Crisp will continue to play in front of the hometown fans that witnessed her win state championships as a freshman and sophomore while playing for Goodyear Millennium High School. A first-team all-region selection, most recently Crisp averaged 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in helping lead PHH Prep to the Grind Session girls basketball world championship. As a sophomore, Crisp, who has returned to Millennium for her senior season, was recognized as the 5A offensive player of the year for per-game contributions of 14.8 points, 3.6 steals, 3.0 assists 4.2 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field.
Crisp's impact with Millennium was as sudden as it was superb as she contributed 9.7 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a freshman in helping Millennium win the first of consecutive state titles.
WHEN: Sunday at 2 p.m. MST
WHERE: Desert Financial Arena • Click here for tickets
WATCH: Pac-12 Mountain (Cindy Brunson/Joan Bonvicini)
LISTEN: KDUS AM 1060 (Jeff Munn/Maura McHugh – pregame coverage starts at 1:30 pm)
LIVE STATS: Click here
UP NEXT
The Sun Devil women's basketball team will attempt to make it eight wins in nine games when it hosts Utah on Sunday (2 pm MST) at Desert Financial Arena. Sunday's contest will be the program's annual Keep the Beat game for Heart Health Awareness. Starting at 12 pm, Taste of Tempe – an event connected to the game in which local restaurants will be offering free healthy food – will be hosted on the north side of DFA. Click here to read more on why Sun Devil Women's Basketball started this annual event.
Coming off an unplanned period of just over three weeks without having played a game, ASU started Pac-12 play – the final Pac-12 team to start league play after having its first six conference games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols – with a 57-52 overtime upset of No. 22 Colorado on Friday. Taya Hanson scored a game-high 17 points and tied her career high with seven rebounds while Mael Gilles just missed her fourth double-double of the season (eight points, 11 rebounds) while adding a career-high five rejections for the Sun Devils (9-5, 1-0 Pac-12), who were playing without leading scorer Jade Loville.
Utah (9-5, 0-2) is tied with Oregon State (8-4, 1-1) for the second-fewest number of Pac-12 games played. The Utes won eight of their first 11 games before having their next four games postponed.
SERIES NOTES VERSUS UTAH
• ASU has won 11 of the last 14 meetings with five of the last seven contests between the two squads decided by four points less, including four games decided two points.
• Each team won on the other's home court last season. In the first meeting, Taya Hanson (15 points) and Jaddan Simmons (12 points) helped lead ASU to a 56-48, come-from-behind win in Salt Lake City. In the rematch, Utah made 51 percent of its shots, including 50 percent of uts triples (9-18) in a 64-51 win in Tempe.
• The Utes won the only meeting of the 2019-20 season, 75-71 in Salt Lake City. ASU lost despite tying a season-high with 10 triples. Former Sun Devil Reili Richardson knocked down a career-high six 3-pointers – one triple shy of tying the school record – and scored 22 points.
• In 2018-19, the Sun Devils swept the season series with a pair of dramatic come-from-behind wins, including the biggest comeback in school history when they scored 20 straight points to end the game and erase an 18-point deficit.
• ASU's eight-game winning streak over Utah was snapped after the Utes edged ASU 58-56 on Jan. 19, 2018 in Tempe. ASU won the front end of the 2017-18 series 83-81 in Salt Lake City (Dec. 31, 2017). Former Sun Devil Kianna Ibis had one of the best offensive days turned in by a Sun Devil in recent memory as she scored a career-high 30 points. Ibis became the first Sun Devils to score 30 or more points since Kylan Loney accomplished the feat vs. Arizona on January 31, 2004. Only current Sun Devil Jade Loville has scored more points since, accounting for 34 points in ASU's win at San Diego on Dec. 18.
STATE OF PLAY
• Through games played Jan. 21, ASU has an NCAA Net ranking of 43, one of seven Pac-12 teams in the Top 50 (Stanford - 3, Arizona - 10, Oregon - 12, Utah - 21, Colorado - 34, UCLA 42).
• In its last eight games (7-1 record) ASU is... averaging 69.3 ppg, shooting 44.1 pct and 34.9 pct 3FGs while allowing only 53.5 ppg. Each figure is a big improvement from ASU's first six games (2-4 record) when it... averaged 61.3 ppg (-8.0), connected on 37.4 pct of its FGs (-6.7), 26.2 pct 3FGs (-8.7) while giving up a respectable 57.5 ppg (+4.0).
• Two Sun Devils have started every game: Jaddan Simmons, Taya Hanson – both returning starters from last season's squad
• Simmons: Leads ASU in assists (3.1 apg/14th in Pac-12), steals (1.93 spg/7th in the Pac-12), assist-to-TO ratio (1.79/5th in Pac-12) and FTs made (40) and attempted (57).
• Hanson: Is 2nd on the team in 3-pointers/19), tied for 2nd in assists (2.5 apg) and third in steals (1.3 spg) and rebounds (3.7 rpg). Hanson scored a season-high 17 points and tied her career high with seven rebounds in ASU's OT win over No. 22 Colorado (Jan. 21).
• Transfers Jade Loville (Boise State) and Mael Gilles (graduate transfer from Rutgers) have both started all 13 games they have played in.
• Loville: Leads ASU in scoring (15.5 ppg/5th in Pac-12), 3-pointers (23/1.77 per game/11th in Pac-12), FG pct (47.5/6th in Pac-12) and 3-point FG pct. (48.9/1st in Pac-12). On Dec. 18, Loville became the fourth Sun Devil to score 30 or more points since 2000, as the 2021 All-Mountain West honoree dropped 34 points (most in the Pac-12 as of Jan. 21) in ASU's 79-60 win over San Diego. DNP for precautionary reasons in ASU's contest vs. Colorado (Jan. 21).
• Gilles: Currently paces the team in rebounds (8.4 rpg/1st in the Pac-12), offensive rebounds (2.7 rpg/3rd in Pac-12) and blocks (1.4 bpg/7th in Pac-12) and is 2nd in scoring (10.6 ppg) and steals (1.93 spg/8th in Pac-12) and tied for second in assists (2.5 apg). Gilles has three double-doubles and has just missed the feat in three other contests. Gilles has posted 11 or more rebounds five times this season. DNP for precautionary reasons in ASU's contest vs. Lipscomb (Dec. 30).
• Jayde Van Hyfte, the only Sun Devil on last season's roster to start every game in 2019-20, made her 2021-22 debut in the season's eighth game after not having played since the 2020-21 season opener. She has started every game she has played in – ASU's last seven games – and is shooting 75.0 pct (12-16 FGs) from the floor.
• After starting the first seven games, Maggie Besselink missed ASU's next six games due to injury. She returned to action vs. Colorado (Jan. 21). In per-game averages, Besselink is second on the team in rebounds (6.1 rpg) and is second in offensive rebounds (2.6 rpg). Her career-high 15 rebounds in the season's second game vs. Minnesota are the most by a Sun Devil this season. Besselink started 14 of the 18 games she played in last season and led the team in rebounds (5.7 rpg/16th in the Pac-12).
• Transfers Ayzhiana Basallo (two games) and Isadora Sousa (eight games) have also missed time due to injury. Basallo is currently second on the team in 3-point FG pct. (39.3) and is fourth in 3-pointers (11).
• Reserves Katelyn Levings (one start/4th on the team in rebounds - 3.5), Gabriela Bosquez (one start/shooting 83 pct from the line/10-12), Sydney Erikstrup (scored career-high eight points vs. Marist) and Imogen Greenslade (5th on the team in rebounds per game - 3.4) have all played in every game this season. Levings started all 22 games she was available to play in 2020-21 and finished third on the team in offensive rebounds (2.0 rpg) and fourth in both scoring (5.7 ppg) and rebounding (4.2 rpg).
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
• A win on Sunday would give ASU its first five-game winning streak since January of 2020.
• As of Jan. 22, ASU is ranked among the top third in the Pac-12 in 3-pt FG pct. defense (2nd/28.0), scoring defense (3rd/27th in the nation/55.2 ppg) & offensive rebounds per game (3rd/13.93 rpg). ASU is 23rd in the nation in blocks per game (5.1 bpg/5th in the Pac-12).
• Currently with 976 career points – 775 points at Boise State and 201 points at ASU – Jade Loville needs 24 points to reach 1000 for her career. Loville's last seven games: 18.4 ppg, 53.9 FG pct. (48-89), 65.0 3FG pct (13-20), 83.3 FT pct. (20-24).
• The team's active career leader in 3-pointers (130/seventh place on ASU's all-time list), Taya Hanson needs two 3s to tie Briann January (132/2006-09) for sixth place, three to tie Betsy Boardman (133/2000-05) for fifth place and four to tie Crystal Cobb (134/1989-94) for fourth place and seven to tie Jill Noe (137/2003-08) for third place.
• Four players have led or tied for the team lead in scoring – Loville (6x), Simmons (4x), Hanson (4x), Gilles (3x).
• Defensively, ASU has given up 55 or fewer points nine times this season. In its win over 57-52 OT win over Colorado on Friday, ASU held CU nearly 18 points below its scoring average. Colorado's 52 points tied its lowest point total of the year. It needed the five additional minutes in overtime to reach that total as the Buffaloes had 46 points in regulation.
• ASU has allowed an average of only 57.1 ppg since the start of the 2014-15 season (a span of 238 games). It has held the opposition to 50 or less points 72 times during that stretch (68-4 in those contests).
• ASU has allowed 13 or fewer points in a quarter 31 times this season.
• Including its 8-5 record this season, ASU is 81-18 (.818) in non-conference, regular season games since 2013.
SEASON SUMMARY
• The first month of the season was punctuated by a challenging schedule for a team not only getting used to playing with one another, but also adjusting to the personnel it did not have due to injuries. After starting 2-4, the Sun Devils have responded with wins in seven of their last eight games.
• ASU opened the 2021-22 season splitting its first two contests, defeating Northern Colorado 71-41 (Nov. 9) before falling to Minnesota 66-59 in OT (Nov. 12). Loville (16.5 ppg) and Hanson (12.0 ppg) both averaged double figures in scoring in the two games. Gilles averaged 7.0 ppg, 5.0 rebs, 4.0 blocks and 3.0 steals. Besselink had a career-high 15 rebounds vs. Minnesota.
• Despite a strong defensive effort, ASU was not able to overcome shooting 30 percent in a 55-44 loss at BYU (Nov. 17).
• Coming off a 13-percent (3-24) outing from long rage at BYU, ASU came within one 3-pointer of tying the single-game school record after hitting 13 from downtown in an 82-53 win over Marist (Nov. 21). Ten of ASU's 13 triples came during a first half in which ASU shot a blistering 59 percent from beyond the arc.
• ASU went 1-2 at the Cancun Challenge played on Thanksgiving weekend. ASU started the tourney with setbacks against Houston (68-60) & No. 6 Baylor 62-52. In both contests, the Sun Devils fought back to get within single digits after trailing by double-figures. In the final of the three games it played in three days, ASU defeated Fordham 58-43. Simmons was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging 13.7 points while connecting on 93 pct (13-14) of her free throws in the three games.
• ASU swept its home tournament, the ASU Classic, defeating UTSA (68-44) & Harvard (91-54) to extend its winning streak to three games. Loville (13.0 ppg), Gilles (11.0 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 4.0 apg, 2.5 spg) and Basallo (10.0 ppg, 3.0 apg) were ASU's top contributors in the wins. Gabriela Bosquez (career-high nine points) and Imogen Greenslade (career-high 11 rebounds) both had strong outings against Harvard.
• Despite a career-high 18 points from Gilles, the Sun Devils had their three-game winning streak snapped at Creighton, 69-62 (Dec. 12). ASU shot 47 pct for the game, its third straight contest shooting 45 pct or higher. ASU doubled up Creighton in scoring (24-12) in the third quarter to take a five-point lead going the final frame. Creighton outscored ASU 28-16 over the last 10 minutes – the most points scored by an ASU opponent in a quarter this season – to come back and claim the win.
• On Dec. 18, Loville became the fourth Sun Devil women's basketball player to score 30 or more points since 2000, as the 2021 All-Mountain West honoree dropped 34 points (most in the Pac-12 as of Dec. 28) in ASU's 79-60 win over San Diego.
• The Sun Devils were originally scheduled to open Pac-12 play with contests at UCLA (Dec. 31) and at USC (Jan. 2). On Dec. 24, it was announced the first half of ASU's road trip to Los Angeles had been postponed. ASU announced on Dec. 28 it reached an agreement to play Lipscomb on Dec. 30 in Tempe (ASU won 70-54). On Dec. 29, it was announced the second half of ASU's trip to the City of Angles would not be happening, either. ASU would go on to have its next four contests – vs. UW and WSU, at UO and OSU – postponed.
• Coming off an unplanned period of just over three weeks without having played a game, ASU started Pac-12 play – the final Pac-12 team to start league play after having its first six conference games postponed due to COVID-19 protocols – with a 57-52 overtime upset of No. 22 Colorado on Jan. 21.
WHERE WE STARTED
Entering her 25th season leading the Maroon and Gold, head coach Charli Turner Thorne welcomed back several talented returners, including veteran players G Taya Hanson (set school record for most 3-pointers per game last season) and F Jayde Van Hyfte (one of the team's top post performers who was forced to miss last season due to injury).
After showing several flashes of brilliance during its first year in Tempe, Turner Thorne's Top Five recruiting class – including G Jaddan Simmons (first Sun Devil freshman to average double figures in scoring since 2003) and posts Maggie Besselink (team's top rebounder last season) and Katelyn Levings (played in and started all but two games last season) – is poised to have an even bigger impact this season.
Add to that a quartet of outstanding transfers – seasoned Big Ten standout Mael Gilles, 2021 All-Mountain West performer Jade Loville, 2020 Mountain West Conference Newcomer of the Year Ayzhiana Basallo and two-time NJCCA All-American Isadora Sousa. Combining the talents of key returners with the infusion of new talent, Turner Thorne and the Sun Devils will look to feature a high-tempo offense to go with the signature, hard-nosed, pressuring defenses that Turner Thorne's teams have come to be known for over the years.
WELCOME TO TEMPE
ASU added a quartet of talented and experienced transfers in the offseason who head coach Charli Turner Thorne feels has the potential to have a major impact this season. Three of the four transferred in April with 2020 Mountain West Conference Newcomer of the Year Ayzhiana Basallo being the first to officially join the program. Basallo, a 5-5 guard who will have two years of eligibility, arrived at ASU from San Jose State where she earned her degree in communication earlier this year. In her only full season at San Jose State – did not play in 2018-19 due to NCAA transfer rules and SJSU's 2020-21 season was canceled after only four games due to COVID-19 – Basallo earned the Mountain West Conference's Newcomer of the Year award for a season in which she averaged a team-high 18.5 points per game while shooting 44.7 pct from the field, 45.4 pct from beyond the arc (school single-season record) and 92.5 pct at the free throw line (school single-season record).
Jade Loville, a 5-10 wing who earned All-Mountain West honors last season, joined ASU from Boise State. In 2020-21, Loville, who has two years of eligibility, scored in double figures 19 times last season, setting the school's single-game scoring record with 40 points at UNLV on Feb. 10, 2021. She scored 20 or more points nine times and was named the Mountain West Player of the Week after averaging 26.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game in a two-game sweep of San Jose State (Dec. 31 and Jan. 2).
A 6-1 forward who originally came up through Canada's youth national teams Mael Gilles is using her fifth year of eligibility to play for ASU after spending the last four seasons with Rutgers (started 55 of 101 career games). Last season, Gilles averaged 8.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in helping Rutgers earn its highest seed in the NCAA Tournament since 2012. A starter in all 18 games she played in last season, Gilles notched six double-figure scoring efforts, including a season-high 16 points on two occasions.
In early June, ASU welcomed Isadora Sousa, a six-foot guard who played the last two seasons at Chipola College in Marianna, Fla. A native of Sao Paulo, Brazil, Sousa has twice been named an NJCCA All-American – third team in 2020 and second team in 2021 – by World Exposure Report. She is coming off a campaign in which she earned FCSAA/NJCAA VIII All-State, All-Panhandle Conference first-team and FCSAA/NJCAA VIII All-Tournament Team honors in helping lead Chipola to its seventh FCSAA Championship and an appearance in the NJCAA Tournament semifinals.
One of the biggest challenges ASU faced last season was overcoming its youth/inexperience as out of 120 possible starts, 95 were made by freshmen (62) or upperclassmen who were first-year starters (33). In addition to the talent they brought, just as important is the experience as Gilles (56/104), Loville (87/23) and Basallo (60/33) brought a combined 224 games of NCAA D1 playing experience, including 139 starts.
YVONNE SANCHEZ JOINS CHARLI TURNER THORNE'S COACHING STAFF
Last April Yvonne Sanchez – a coach with more than 30 years of experience both as an assistant and head coach – joined Charli Turner Thorne's staff as assistant coach at ASU. Sanchez came to Tempe from the University of Michigan where she spent the last three seasons as assistant coach. While in Ann Arbor, the Wolverines won nearly 70 percent of their games and earned a pair of bids to the NCAA Tournament (Michigan would likely have also been a 2020 NCAA Tournament participant had the postseason not been canceled due to the pandemic). In 2021, the Wolverines earned their highest NCAA Tournament seed ever (No. 6) and reached the Sweet 16 for the first time in program history with wins over No. 11 seed Florida Gulf Coast and No. 3 seed Tennessee. Michigan fell just short of its first Elite Eight after being edged by No. 2 seed Baylor in overtime, 78-75.
Sanchez was on staff at the University of New Mexico from 2000-2016, spending the last five seasons of her tenure as head coach. She amassed 77 victories as head coach and was named the 2014-15 Mountain West Coach of the Year after winning a school-record 14 conference games. In her first season as head coach, the Lobos reached the Mountain West Conference championship game. She would duplicate the feat in 2015 when the Lobos went 21-13. During her time as an assistant coach (2000-08) and associate head coach (2008-11), the Lobos won two Mountain West regular-season titles and five conference tournament crowns and made seven NCAA Tournament appearances. New Mexico won 239 games from 2000-2011, highlighted by the program's only NCAA Sweet 16 appearance, in 2003.
NEWS FROM SIGNING DAY
On Nov. 10, 2021, Charli Turner Thorne announced local superstar Trayanna Crisp, rated a four-star and Top 100 student-athlete by ESPN.com, signed a national letter of intent to study and play basketball at Arizona State.
A five-foot-eight combo guard who is rated No. 20 in the nation at her position by ESPN.com, Crisp will continue to play in front of the hometown fans that witnessed her win state championships as a freshman and sophomore while playing for Goodyear Millennium High School. A first-team all-region selection, most recently Crisp averaged 14.2 points, 5.2 rebounds and 4.2 assists in helping lead PHH Prep to the Grind Session girls basketball world championship. As a sophomore, Crisp, who has returned to Millennium for her senior season, was recognized as the 5A offensive player of the year for per-game contributions of 14.8 points, 3.6 steals, 3.0 assists 4.2 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field.
Crisp's impact with Millennium was as sudden as it was superb as she contributed 9.7 points, 2.6 assists and 2.4 steals per game as a freshman in helping Millennium win the first of consecutive state titles.