(Photo:Scotty Bara/WCSN)
Following a resounding win over the University of Arizona on the road Thursday night, Arizona State returns to Wells Fargo Arena to host the Wildcats. The win tied ASU with its best start in school history, and the Sun Devils will be looking continue their incredible start at home on Saturday night.
In their last outing, the no. 18 Sun Devils (14-1) ran the Wildcats out of the gym, blowing them out 88-41 for their 10th consecutive victory. It was the biggest margin of victory in series history for either team and boosted ASU’s Pac-12 record to a perfect 3-0. Four of the five ASU starters scored in double-digits.
The loss on Thursday night drops Arizona to .500 on the season, including an 0-3 mark in conference play. The Wildcats shot an abysmal 27% from the field and scored their season low in total points with just 41.
Keys to the Game:
-Keep Shooting
In the first matchup between these two teams, Arizona State shot lights out. As a team, the Sun Devils were 59% from the floor, including 46.7% from behind the three-point line, while Arizona showed that they didn’t have the offensive firepower to go toe-to-toe with the ASU shooters. If perimeter shooters like Katie Hempen and Kelsey Moos can continue to get open looks and find the bottom of the net, Arizona will be in for another long night.
-Rebound, Rebound, Rebound
The Sun Devils crashed the boards hard on Thursday night, outrebounding the Wildcats by a count of 45-32. Arizona State’s Sophie Brunner, Kelsey Moos, and Quinn Dornstauder have been good as of late and if they can continue to bring down rebounds on both ends of the court, it will give ASU more opportunities to have another prolific game offensively.
-Pressure Candice Warthen
While Arizona looked helpless as a whole, Candice Warthen still managed to score 13 points to go along with her three rebounds. Warthen has been the leading scorer this season for an Arizona team that has really struggled offensively. If ASU wants to dominate Arizona for consecutive games, they will have to keep a tab on Warthen.
X-Factor: As broad as it may be, the X-factor for tonight’s game is execution. The Sun Devils clearly showed that they are the more talented team in Thursday night’s rout, so all they really need to do is execute Coach Charli Turner Thorne’s game plan and they should be able to come out with a victory.
Prediction: Arizona State is slowly but surely winning the respect of the NCAA, achieving its best start since the 1982-83 season and moving up to no. 18 in the Associated Press Top 25 Poll. Arizona just doesn’t have the players to compete with ASU for 40 minutes, and the Sun Devils perform even better on their home court. Arizona State will win this one in another blowout and notch its best start in over 30 years.
Tip-off is at 6:00 p.m. at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe.
