Nov. 16, 1997
ASU Women's Hoops Opens Season With UCSB
The ASU women's basketball team opens the 1997-98 season with the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. MST in the University Activity Center. Senior guards Rameeka Lowe (Seattle, Wash.) and Stephanie Freeman (Austin, Texas) return to lead the Sun Devils. Lowe, a shooting guard, assumed the point guard duties for the final 14 games of 1996-97, averaging 7.5 ppg with 47 steals. Freeman is the squad's leading returning scorer, averaging 7.8 ppg last season.
ASU IN HOME OPENERS: The Sun Devils are 18-4 in home openers, having won their last three in a row and 11 of their last 12. ASU beat Evansville 74-64 in last year's home opener.
AGAINST UCSB: ASU is 3-1 vs. the Gauchos and has won the last three contests. The last meeting (ASU's season opener) came on Nov. 26, 1991, in Santa Barbara and resulted in an 89-82 Sun Devil victory.
ON THE AIR: The ASU-UC Santa Barbara matchup will be carried live by FOX Sports Arizona, with Trey Bender calling the play-by-play. FOX Sports Arizona will broadcast four Sun Devil women's games this season. The game can be heard on KMVP 860 AM, with Kevin Ray (play-by-play) and Jacinta Sweet (color) calling the action.
PROBABLE STARTERS ASU Sun Devils Pos.Cl. Ht. PPG RPG Notable #14 Kristine Sand F So. 6-0 5.5 2.0 Played in all 28 games in '97 #55 Stephanie Freeman F Sr. 5-10 7.8 4.3 Played in 81 career games #54 Rachel Holt C So. 6-3 3.3 1.6 Averaged 9.9 min. in '97 #21 Rameeka Lowe G Sr. 5-7 7.5 5.0* Started final 13 games of '97 #3 Rechelle Lang G Jr. 5-9 9.3 3.3* Transfer from Casper JC * - assists per game #4 Leaf Newman G Fr. 5-9 23.0 9.1 Perris (Calif.) HS #10 Ebony Edwards G Fr. 5-7 22.0 4.0 Arizona 5A Player of Year #20 Kisha White F Jr. 6-0 - - Walkon from Phoenix, Ariz. #30 Spring Steed G Sr. 5-10 0.9 0.7 Played in 24 games in '97 #32 Michelle Tom G Jr. 5-8 - - Mid-season transfer in '97 #40 Jennifer Bennett C Fr. 6-3 12.0 13.0 Mead HS (Spokane, Wash.) #50 Kellie McDanal F Fr. 6-4 12.5 6.7 Evergreen HS (Conifer, Colo.)
SCOUTING THE GAUCHOS: Defending Big West Champion UCSB is coming off its second sconsecutive 24-win season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Gauchos return 10 letterwinners, including all five starters. UCSB defeated Myjava (Slovakia) 78-62 in its first exhibition game Nov. 7. Sophomore G Tawnee Cooper led the Gauchos with 15 points, while sophomore F Kristi Rohr added 13 points (on 6-of-7 shooting) and seven rebounds. Sophomore G Stacy Clinesmith contributed 12 points and a game-high five assists. UCSB faces Kilsyth (Australia) in its final exhibition Monday night.
WHO ARE THOSE GUYS?: Nine newcomers don the maroon and gold for the first time this year, almost outnumbering the returning letterwinners (5) two to one. The nine new faces are the most on an ASU team since the Pac-10 began sponsoring women's basketball in 1986-87. New names to keep an eye on include junior point guard Rechelle (Georgie) Lang, freshmen guards Leaf Newman (Perris, Calif.) and Ebony Edwards (Chandler, Ariz) and freshman center Jennifer Bennett (Spokane, Wash.).
FREEMAN ON THE MOVE: SR G Stephanie Freeman needs just three steals to surpass Ryneldi Becenti for eighth on the ASU all-time chart. With 154 thefts in her three season, Freeman needs just 45 steals to crack the top three.
ASU Career Steals Leaders
1. 291 Cassandra Lander 1980-83
2. 221 Molly Tuter 1994-97
3. 198 Karen O'Connor 1988-91
4. 189 Sandra Hamilton 1981-82
5t. 187 Kym Hampton 1981-84
187 Jovonne Smith 1990-93
7. 170 Nikki Thompson 1991-94
8. 156 Ryneldi Becenti 1992-93
9. 154 Stephanie Freeman 1995-pres.
ON THE TUBE: The Sun Devils will appear on television no less than five times (with the opportunity for more exposures) in 1997-98, a record for the program:
Nov. 20 UC Santa Barbara, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona
Nov. 30 Dayton, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona
Dec. 6 SMU Tourn., 4 p.m. FOX Sports Southwest^
Dec. 21 ASU Wells Fargo, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona^
Dec. 29 Oklahoma, 7 p.m. FOX Sports Arizona
Jan. 17 Arizona, 2 p.m. FOX Sports Net
Jan. 21 at Oregon, 1 p.m. FOX Sports Net
^ - if ASU makes it to the championship game
MAXIMUM EXPOSURE: A full radio contract, which includes coverage of each of the Sun Devils' 28 regular-season contests, is part of the ASU women's basketball package for the first time ever this season. Twenty-four games will be carried on KMVP (860 AM), and the remaining four will air on KTAR (620 AM). All but four of the games will be broadcast live.
TURNING THE CORNER: In 1996-97, head coach Charli Turner Thorne led ASU to its most wins (9) in four seasons.
PAC-10 PREDICTIONS: Pac-10 media tabbed the Sun Devils to finish ninth in the league this year (37 points). Defending champion Stanford was selected to finish first, collecting all 17 first-place votes. (ASU was picked to finish 10th a year ago.) Here's the complete poll, released at Pac-10 Media Day in Los Angeles on Nov. 6:
1997-98 Pac-10 Women's Basketball Media Poll
1. Stanford (17) 6. USC
2. Arizona 7. Oregon State
3. Washington 8. California
4. UCLA 9. ARIZONA STATE
5. Oregon 10. Washington State
KEEPING THEM AT HOME: Four players from Arizona dot the Sun Devil roster for the first time since 1986-87. ASU's players from the Grand Canyon State this year include: two-time Arizona 5A Player of the Year Ebony Edwards (Chandler), Rachel Holt (Buckeye), Michelle Tom (Winslow) and Kisha White (Phoenix).
LOOKING AHEAD: ASU takes on ConferenceUSA foe Marquette in its next tilt on Saturday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. in the UAC. The Golden Eagles went 1-1 in the 1997 NCAA Tournament and were 21-10 a year ago. The Sun Devils then host Dayton on Nov. 30.
WE MEET AGAIN: ASU freshman Jennifer Bennett (Spokane, Wash.) and UCSB sophomore Stacy Clinesmith, an All-Big West Second Team selection, were teammates at Mead High School in Spokane Wash. The duo helped Mead to the 1996 AAA Washington State Championship.
STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Ten of the teams on ASU's schedule received votes in the preseason (Nov. 11) USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll, including four non-conference squads. Top-25 teams in the poll are No. 3 Stanford, No. 15 Arizona and No. 20 Auburn (who the Sun Devils could meet up with in the ASU Wells Fargo Classic). Other opponents receiving votes are: UCLA, Marquette, Oregon, USC, UC Santa Barbara, Oklahoma State and Washington.
HEAD COACH CHARLI TURNER THORNE: Turner Thorne (Stanford '88), who enters her second year as the Sun Devil mentor, arrived ASU after a three-year stint as head coach at Northern Arizona University. Turner Thorne's career record now stands at 49-59 over four seasons, after guiding ASU to its most wins (9) since 1992-93 last year. She led the Lumberjacks to consecutive winning seasons in 1994-95 and 1995-96, the first coach in school history to accomplish that feat. She was 40-40 overall in her three years in Flagstaff. She previously worked as an assistant at Santa Clara and Washington. Turner Thorne, who signed a four-year contract with ASU, is assisted by Mark Lewis, Laura Hughes and Erika Hardwick.