Women's Basketball

Dec. 12, 1997

Sun Devil Women Host Inaugural Wells Fargo Classic

• Arizona State Sun Devils (2-4) vs. Long Island Blackbirds (1-5)
• Saturday, Dec. 20 * 4 p.m. MST
• University Activity Center (14,198) * Tempe, Ariz.
• KMVP 860 AM

After a 10-day break for final exams, the Sun Devils return to action to host the ASU Wells Fargo Classic -- a four-team tournament that features No. 16 Auburn, Long Island University and UNC Wilmington -- Dec. 20-21. The Sun Devils are looking to improve on last year's second-place finish in their home event. The squad will be bolstered by the addition of junior point guard Michelle Tom, a Division I transfer at mid-season last year, to the lineup. Tom is eligible beginning Dec. 20.

MEDIA INFO: ASU's games in the Wells Fargo Classic will be carried live on KMVP 860 AM with Kevin Ray (play-by-play) and Jacinda Sweet (color) calling the action. If the Sun Devils advance to Sunday's Championship game, FOX Sports Arizona will broadcast the contest starting at 7 p.m., with Trey Bender (play-by-play) and Lin Laursen (color).

SERIES RECORDS: The Sun Devils have never met up with Auburn, Long Island, or UNC Wilmington on the hardwood.

PROBABLE STARTERS
ASU Sun Devils         Pos. Cl. Ht.   PPG   RPG     Notable 
#40 Jennifer Bennett    F   Fr. 6-3   2.7   2.8     started last 2 games
#55 Stephanie Freeman   F   Sr. 5-10 14.8   3.3     81.3 FT%
#54 Rachel Holt         C   So. 6-3   7.3   4.3     52.8 FG%
#21 Rameeka Lowe        G   Sr. 5-7   5.7   4.3*    3.8 rpg;  55.5 3FG %
 #3 Rechelle Lang       G   Jr. 5-9   4.8   3.7*    4.0 rpg 
* - assists per game
OFF THE BENCH
#4  Leaf Newman         G   Fr. 5-9   8.3   3.3     40.0 FG%
#10 Ebony Edwards       G   Fr. 5-7   6.2   2.7     20.7 min.
#14 Kristine Sand       F   So. 6-0   5.7   3.3     18.2 min.
#20 Kisha White         F   Jr. 6-0   4.3   3.0      9.5 min.
#50 Kellie McDanal      F   Fr. 6-4   0.0   1.0      4.3 min.
#30 Spring Steed        G   Sr. 5-10  0.0   0.4      4.8 min.

Senior guard Rameeka Lowe

SCOUTING LIU: The Blackbirds (1-5) are coming off a 67-61 loss to Army (4-5) on Dec. 11 in Brooklyn. They will be looking to snap a three-game losing skid that followed their 82-77 win over Norfolk State on Dec. 1. Coached by Marguerite Gualtieri, who is in her ninth season on the Brooklyn campus, the Blackbirds have been without at least two of their starters in every game. Senior swingman Dawn Coleman is averaging a team-high 9.3 points to go along with 5.8 rebounds. LIU is averaging 43.8 rebounds to its opponents' 43.3 and is scoring an average of 63.7 points per contest. Gaultieri led the squad to its best conference finish ever last season, going 9-9 to tie for fourth in the NEC.

LAST TIME OUT: New Mexico's Sonya Bryant scored 21 points and pulled down a game-high tying seven rebounds to lead the Lobos to a 67-39 defeat of Arizona State Dec. 10 at the Pit in Albuquerque.

Extending its winning streak to seven games, New Mexico (8-1) took advantage of 17 first-half Sun Devil turnovers to build a 34-19 lead after the first 20 minutes of play.

The Sun Devils trailed 16-13 with just under 10 minutes to go in the first period. An 18-6 run by the Lobos followed, with Bryant contributing six points. New Mexico went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe during the span and finished 10-for-10 in the half.

ASU could not pull closer than 13 points in the second stanza, committing 11 more turnovers. Sophomore forward Kristine Sand (Oslo, Norway) scored each of her eight points after intermission but the Sun Devils shot 28.6 percent (6-for-21) in the second period.

Sophomore center Rachel Holt (Buckeye, Ariz.) paced the Sun Devils with nine points (on 4-for-7 shooting) and a career-high seven rebounds. Freshman guard Ebony Edwards (Chandler, Ariz.) and Sand chipped in eight points apiece.

New Mexico recorded 17 steals to ASU's seven, however the Sun Devils held their own in the rebounding department, with 30 boards to UNM's 34. The Lobos connected on 90.0 percent (19-for-20) of their free throws.

PERIMETER IMPROVEMENTS: The Sun Devils are shooting 31.2 percent (24-for-77) from three-point range, a marked improvement from their performance after six games last season. After the six-game mark last year, ASU was shooting at a 24.5 percent clip, and had made half as many (12) treys in 49 attempts. The Sun Devils shot a season-high 45.5 percent (5-for-11) from three-point land Dec. 6 against New Mexico State, the second time they have eclipsed the .400-mark this year. ASU was 7-for-17 (.412) against UC Santa Barbara in its opener.

STARTING LINEUPS: Coach Charli Turner Thorne has gone to two different lineups in ASU's six games. Both lineups have produced a win:

Nov. 20, 29 & 30, Dec. 5       Dec. 6 & 10         
#14/F   Kristine Sand           #40/F   Jennifer Bennett
#55/F   Stephanie Freeman       #55/F   S. Freeman
#54/C   Rachel Holt             #54/C   Rachel Holt
#21/G   Rameeka Lowe            #21/G   Rameeka Lowe
 #3/G   Rechelle Lang            #3/G   Rechelle Lang

FREEMAN MAKES ALL-TOURNEY TEAM: In ASU's two games at the Southwestern Bell/Cotton Bowl Classic, SR F Stephanie Freeman went 11-of-25 (44.4%), shot 55.6 percent (5-for-9) from beyond the arc, was 10-of-12 (83.3%) from the free-throw line, and averaged 18.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 5.5 steals, landing herself on the inaugural event's all-tournament squad.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP DEFINED: SR F Stephanie Freeman (Austin, Texas), ASU's sole three-year letterwinner, continues to lead the squad offensively with 14.8 points per game. Freeman has paced the Sun Devils in scoring in five of their six games, tying FR G Ebony Edwards with a team-high 18 points vs. UCSB. Freeman also leads the squad in steals (2.5), three-point percentage (32.0) and free-throw percentage (81.3). She has four 15-point games on the year.

STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: Four of ASU's 1997-98 opponents were ranked in Dec. 8 the Associated Press Top 25, and four more received at least three votes. Pac-10 rivals Arizona (8th), Stanford (18th) and Washington (19th) are rated in the top-20, and the Sun Devils could also meet up with No. 16 Auburn in the Wells Fargo Classic. In addition, Marquette (13 votes/31st), UCLA (four votes/37th) and Oregon (3 votes/41st) received multiple votes.

DID YOU KNOW?: ASU's 60-46 win over New Mexico State was it's largest margin of victory since an 88-74 win against Oregon State on Feb. 20, 1997.

DOUBLE TROUBLE: SR G Rameeka Lowe (Seattle, Wash.) notched the first double-double of her career vs. UCSB, finishing with 10 points and a career-high 10 assists. Six of her points came from beyond the arc, as she went 2-for-2 from three-point range.

WE GOT MICHELE: Riding the wave of WNBA excitement that captured Phoenix this past summer, FOX Sports Arizona has signed Phoenix Mercury guard Michele Timms as color analyst for Sun Devil televised games. Timms, who made her debut in the ASU-Dayton game, will also serve as commentator for the ASU-Oklahoma game (Dec. 29), in the two games vs. Arizona (Jan. 17, Feb. 14) and more to come.

EB -N- FLOW: FR G Ebony Edwards (Chandler, Ariz.) showed no signs of collegiate debut jitters, tying SR F Stephanie Freeman with a team-high 18 points vs. UCSB. Edwards got her numbers in just 20 minutes, adding six rebounds (with just one turnover) on the night. On the season, "Eb," the '96 and '97 Arizona 5A Player of the Year, is averaging 6.2 points.

DID YOU KNOW?: This year's Sun Devil lineup features just 6 1/2 years of Division I experience. And just one of those players (Stephanie Freeman) averaged more than 14 minutes a game. Here's the breakdown:

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.

FREEMAN ON THE MOVE: SR G Stephanie Freeman needs two steals to surpass Nikki Thompson for seventh on the ASU all-time chart. With 169 career thefts, Freeman needs just 30 steals to crack the top three.

ON THE TUBE: The Sun Devils will appear on television at least 12 times (with the opportunity for more exposures) in 1997-98, a record for the program and second in the Pac-10:

    Nov. 20     UC Santa Barbara, (83-92)   FOX Sports Arizona
    Nov. 30     Dayton, (68-55)             FOX Sports Arizona  
    Dec. 21     ASU Wells Fargo, 7 p.m.     FOX Sports Arizona^
    Dec. 29     Oklahoma, 7 p.m.            FOX Sports Arizona
    Jan. 8      Washington, 7 p.m.          COX Sports
    Jan. 17     Arizona, 2 p.m.             FOX Sports Net
    Jan. 22     at Orgon State, 7 p.m.      FOX Sports Northwest
    Jan. 24     at Oregon, 1 p.m.           FOX Sports Net
    Jan. 29     Stanford, 7 p.m.            COX Sports
    Jan. 31     California, 2 p.m.          FOX Sports Arizona
    Feb. 28     at California, 2 p.m.       FOX Sports Bay Area
    Mar. 7      USC, 7 p.m.                 FOX Sports Arizona
    ^ - if ASU would advance 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.

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

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 51-63 (.447) in her fifth season, 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 (Southern Mississippi '82), Laura Hughes (Santa Clara '92) and Erika Hardwick (Washington '93).

                    Conference      Overall
School              W   L   Pct.    W   L   Pct.
Washington          -   -   ---     6   0  1.000 
Arizona             -   -   ---     5   0  1.000        
Washington State    -   -   ---     4   2   .667        
Oregon State        -   -   ---     3   2   .600        
Oregon              -   -   ---     2   2   .500
USC                 -   -   ---     2   2   .500        
California          -   -   ---     3   4   .428        
Arizona State       -   -   ---     2   4   .333        
Stanford            -   -   ---     1   3   .250
UCLA                -   -   ---     1   3   .250