(Photo: Brooke Faber/WCSN)
In a battle of the top two teams in the Pac-12, Arizona State will face Oregon State on Friday for the second time this season.
In the first matchup between these two teams, Oregon State beat Arizona State in Tempe by a score of 68-57, snapping the Sun Devils’ 14-game winning streak and giving them their first loss in Pac-12 play.
The Sun Devils (21-3, 10-2 Pac-12) dropped to the no. 12 spot in the AP Top 25 after their heartbreaking loss to unranked Cal, a game in which ASU struggled to handle Cal’s size. While Arizona State has been playing teams close lately, they haven’t lost two games in a row this season.
Oregon State (21-2, 11-1 Pac-12) lost their first game in Pac-12 play last Friday to a surging Washington team, snapping a 10-game winning streak, but were able to get back on track with a 61-56 win over Washington State. The Beavers moved to no. 8 in the polls and look to hold on to their top spot in the Pac-12 standings.
Keys to the Game:
-Stop Jamie Weisner
Last time these two teams met, Jamie Weisner was the star for the Beavers, putting up a team-high 21 points to go along with her five rebounds. She was extremely efficient, shooting 57% from the field. Because Arizona State’s game plan centered on Oregon State’s Ruth Hamblin, Weisner was able to get open often and capitalized. It will be huge for the Sun Devils to find a way to keep a defender on Weisner so she doesn’t get so many good looks.
-Brunner/Dornstauder vs Hamblin
Although she didn’t have her usual impact in the first matchup, Ruth Hamblin was a major presence in the middle, drawing double-teams that allowed her teammates to get open. Hamblin has been incredible for the Beavers all season long; she is 11th overall in the conference in scoring with 13.7 points per game and fifth overall in rebounding with 9.2 per game. Although Sophie Brunner and Quinn Dornstauder give up some size to the 6-foot-6 Hamblin, it will be important for them to put pressure on her and force her out of the paint.
-Don’t Get Outrebounded
Despite being one of the smallest teams in the conference, Arizona State is one of the best rebounding teams in the Pac-12 with a margin of +5.8 per game. There are only two teams in the conference with a better rebounding margin than ASU, Colorado and Oregon State. Oregon State ranks first in the conference with an impressive +9.4 margin. The Sun Devils bigs will really need to work hard to win the rebounding battle if they want a chance to take down Oregon State.
X-Factor:
The X-factor in this game is Arizona State’s offensive production. In the first matchup between these two teams, Katie Hempen was the only ASU player to score in double-digits, reaching her career-high of 22 points. As a team, the Sun Devils shot only 36.1% while the Beavers shot 50.0%. If Arizona State is to defeat Oregon State, they will need to have a much better game offensively.
Prediction:
This game might be the biggest of the year for this Arizona State team. If the Sun Devils can win, they move into a tie for first in the Pac-12, and I don’t see them losing anymore regular season games. The winner of this game should go on to win the conference regular season title, and it will be extremely competitive, possibly even going into overtime. In a tight one, the Sun Devils will squeak by the Beavers in Corvallis, putting them in position to take control of the Pac-12.
