(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
Arizona State women’s basketball is coming off arguably its best weekend of all-time, after beating the formerly No. 2 ranked Oregon Ducks and No. 3 ranked Oregon State Beavers in back-to-back games in Tempe last weekend.
The Sun Devils (13-4, 3-2) have now won three games in a row and are ranked No. 18 in the latest AP Poll as they prepare for the Washington schools this weekend.
Although last weekend was one for the record books, head coach Charli Turner Thorne is keeping her team grounded.
“We always say never get too high when you win and never get too low when you lose,” Turner Thorne said during Wednesday’s meeting with the media. “The first thing we did in our team meeting on Monday was watching correctables. I feel that they are more motivated to stay on this path that they are on.”
ASU certainly has to maintain their focus and momentum against Washington and Washington State because there is no room for error in the competitive Pac-12.
“The Washington trip is probably the hardest trip in terms of length and travel,” Turner Thorne said. “These teams are obviously both very good and having great seasons.”
The Devils will face the Washington Huskies (10-5, 2-2) Friday night at 8 p.m. MT. The Huskies are currently on a two-game losing streak, with one of those losses coming to rival Washington State.
Washington is led by senior guard Amber Melgoza who is averaging 14.9 points per game. The Huskies are prone to turning the ball over, committing 16.4 turnovers per game. For ASU to have success, they will need for their defense to show up once again to not only slow down Melgoza, but force Washington into turning the ball over as they have been all season.
Turner Thorne also mentioned the importance of her team to take care of the ball against the Huskies because of their press, but she believes her team is locked in and ready for it.
This game against Washington will also be the first time ASU has played in Seattle since 2017. The Sun Devils’ road game against the Huskies was cancelled due to inclement weather last season.
After ASU finishes up in Seattle they will head to Pullman to take on the Washington State Cougars (9-7, 2-2). Tip-off is at 1 p.m. MT Sunday afternoon.
Washington State is currently riding a two-game winning streak before their matchup against the No. 21 Arizona Wildcats Friday.
The Cougars are led by redshirt senior forward Borislava Hristova who is averaging 19.2 points per game and senior guard Chanelle Molina who is averaging 16.2 points per game and is shooting 42.4 % from behind the arc this season.
ASU will have to watch out for Washington State’s three-point shooting Sunday. The Cougars are shooting 35.7% from three-point range and they average over 16 three-point attempts per game.
Both of the Washington schools will provide different challenges for ASU defensively, but there is one common challenge that all schools have had to face when they match up against the Sun Devils, and that is senior forward Ja’Tavia Tapley.
Tapley is ASU’s leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 11.9 points per game and 7.1 rebounds per game. Behind the breakout season from Tapley and senior forward Jamie Ruden’s return from injury, Arizona State has shown improvement in all areas as a team since the beginning of the season, and that showed during the historic weekend against the Oregon schools.
“We now see each other as one,” said Tapley, who was named the USBWA Women’s National Player of the Week after her performances against two top five programs. “We can beat any team as long as we stay focused and play as hard as we played against those two top teams.”
The Sun Devils have an opportunity this weekend to ascend past No. 18 in the national rankings and send a message to the rest of the country that they are the real deal.
