ASU Women’s Basketball Schedule Preview

Photo: Sun Devil Athletics

Julian Khoury also contributed to this article

Non-Conference Schedule:

Arizona State has some intriguing matchups in non-conference play this season. While they’re most challenging opponents may be found within the Big 12, the Sun Devils are going to have some tough tests to get through in order to have a chance to compete in the conference.

ASU will face its first opponent of stature in the second game of the season against Eastern Washington. Posting an overall record of 29-6 last year, the Eagles dominated. Led by top scorers in graduate student guard Peyton Howard and sophomore forward Kourtney Grossman, EWU averaged 64 points per game, which ranked them No.5 in scoring in the Big Sky Conference.

Three games later, the Sun Devils will cross state borders and head up to Las Vegas to take on the UNLV. The Lady Rebels, were very strong this past season, putting together a record of 26-8; however, six of those eight losses came in non-conference play. Against BIG 12 opponents, the Rebels posted a combined 1-2 record, only defeating UCF, which beat ASU last season.

UNLV fell short in both the Mountain West Conference Championship and the WBB Invitational Tournament, but put up solid numbers in all matches, only losing to Florida by two points in the second round. While this should be a winnable game for Arizona State, they cannot overlook the capabilities of this Lady Rebels squad.

The final two games before conference play will be no cakewalk for the Sun Devils. Both being on the road, they will first take on Oregon State, the 2024-25 WCC champs. After a magical season in Corvallis, OSU was the No. 4 seed heading into the WCC tournament. The Beavers got hot at the right time and went on to defeat USF, Portland State, and the No. 1-seeded Gonzaga to secure a position in the NCAA Tournament.

The run came to an end in Chapel Hill after North Carolina defeated OSU 70-49 in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Despite the loss, Oregon State has shown it can be a force to be reckoned with if you just so happen to catch them at the right time.

The Gonzaga Bulldogs finished last season with a record of 24-11, 17-3 in conference play. They went into the season ranked No. 21 in the AP top 25 poll for preseason rankings, and were fairly solid throughout the year. Even though the Zags aren’t ranked coming into this season, they have multiple players named to the preseason all-conference team; including star sophomore guard Allie Turner, who is also on watch to win the 2026 Becky Hammon player of the year award.

This is a team that can score in multiple different ways and is really going to test Miller’s defense on the court. In their most recent scrimmage they put up 111 points against Western Oregon, and only allowed 53.

Conference Schedule:

Entering their second year in the Big 12, the Sun Devils face a daunting schedule that highlights the conference’s depth and power. ASU faces four teams ranked in the AP preseason top-25 poll – No. 17 TCU, No. 22 Oklahoma State, No. 16 Baylor and No. 14 Iowa State. Optimistically, this tough slate offers the Sun Devils an opportunity to showcase their abilities against some of the nation’s elite teams. It also tests the coaching capabilities of Molly Miller in her inaugural season.

The Sun Devils’ first real test of their conference schedule comes against the reigning Big 12 champs, TCU. On January 11, they head to Fort Worth to play a revamped TCU team coming off an Elite Eight berth in the NCAA tournament.

Despite TCU losing stars like Haley Van Lith and Sedona Prince to graduation and the WNBA, head coach Mark Campbell did a good job rebuilding his roster through the transfer portal. Graduate transfer guard Olivia Miles forwent the 2025 WNBA draft to transfer to TCU. She is projected to be the Horned Frog’s top scoring option. Last year at Notre Dame she averaged 15 pts, 5 rebs and 5 ast. ASU will face another top player in Fort Worth – and a familiar face. Senior center Kennedy Basham transferred from ASU where she averaged 5 pts and 6 rebs. Overall, the TCU-ASU matchup should be exciting as TCU’s high powered offense clashes with Sun Devils’ stalwart defense.

The Arizona women’s basketball team isn’t expected to be a strong contender this season, but a little rivalry magic may keep this game closer than it should be. With both teams under the leadership of new coaches – Arizona is now led by Becky Burke — the game represents the dawn of a new era of the Territorial Cup.

The Wildcats come into the season with a completely rebuilt roster, only retaining one player from last year’s team. Their entire team is built up of transfers and freshmen. Graduate transfer guard Mikayla Perdue was a 20-point-per-game scorer at Cleveland State last year. She led the Horizon League in scoring and could pose major problems for ASU as an offensive threat. Junior guard Sumayah Sugapong transferred from UC San Diego, where she was the Tritons’ top scorer, averaging 14.8 ppg. In her lone NCAA tournament game, she scored 19 points in a loss to Southern.

The new iteration of the Territorial Cup starts in Tempe at Desert Financial Arena on January 28.

Oklahoma State comes off a 25-7 season, with their hopes of a deep NCAA tournament run spoiled in upset fashion. The No. 7 Cowgirls’ season ended at the hands of No. 10 South Dakota State.

Oklahoma State has long been overshadowed by powerhouses TCU, Baylor and Iowa State, but finally has a chance to flip the script thanks to something increasingly rare in college basketball – returning starters. Sophomore guard Stailee Heard was the Cowgirls’ top leader scorer last year, averaging 16.8 ppg. Junior guard Micah Grey was second in scoring behind Heard, averaging 13.7 ppg. This returning duo looks to create a high-scoring offense that may pose problems for the Sun Devils.

ASU’s February 2 game against Baylor is not only a matchup against one of the Big 12’s top contenders, but it’s also a revenge game for coach Molly Miller. Last year at GCU, Miller’s Lopes were bounced in the first round of the NCAA tournament by the Bears. Now, Miller gets to take on Baylor, leading the maroon-and-gold.

The No. 16-ranked Bears are projected to finish third in the conference according to the Big 12 Media Preseason Poll. Although they only retained one key starter from last year’s roster, head coach Nicki Collen has done a nice job of revamping her team’s roster full of transfer portal talent. Sophomore guard Taliah Scott transferred in from Auburn, where she averaged over 20 ppg and was named to the SEC All-Freshman team. The one remaining starter for the Bears is senior guard/forward Darianna Littlepage-Buggs. After averaging nearly 14 ppg last year, Littlepage-Buggs looks to help lead the Bears through her experience and be the team’s top scoring option this year.