ASU Women’s Basketball: Sun Devils to face No. 6 Arizona on Thursday, host San Diego on Sunday

(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)

The precursor to the Territorial Cup matchup on Friday night on the football field in Tucson will be held at McKale Memorial Center on Thursday night when the Sun Devil women’s basketball team will head south to take on the Arizona Wildcats.

Arizona, the No. 6 ranked team in the country, played both UCLA and USC as the Sun Devils did last weekend, coming out on top in both. A three point win over UCLA 68-65 and a one point win over USC 78-77 sets up a critical in-state battle. The Sun Devils will then come back to Tempe to host San Diego in their final non-conference matchup of the season on Sunday afternoon.

ASU split its first two conference matchups against the two Los Angeles schools. On Friday, ASU took down USC 63-58 behind 20 points from freshman sensation Jaddan Simmons. The Devils trailed early, but a 19-5 second quarter spurt put them ahead for good.

“We need to look at it and say that our starters aren’t starting well, and that’s what I told the team and left it at that,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said in her weekly media availability session on Tuesday. “They’re very aware that is not a winning strategy.”

The first big test came against No. 9 UCLA on Sunday. The Bruins jumped out to a 22-11 first quarter lead before ASU fought back to tie the game after three quarters, thanks to outscoring UCLA 36-25 in the second and third quarters combined. A few mistakes by the young Sun Devils cost them down the stretch 63-59 defeat.

“You learn a lot more when you lose,” Turner Thorne said. “We need to box out better and can’t give teams second shots. We’re not happy with our offense at all. We’re making a lot of wrong decisions like shooting when we should be sharing the ball.”

As the Sun Devils move on to Arizona, they’ll have to look out for Aari McDonald. The senior guard scored 30 points on Sunday vs USC, and in her previous two games, did it on the defensive end grabbing eight steals combined. Junior Cate Reese is another standout for the experienced Wildcats, scoring 25 points, and shooting 57% from the field.

The two have combined to score 52% of the team’s points so far this season, so it’s clear the Sun Devils will need to contain them to have a chance to pull off the upset.

Turner Thorne spoke about her players’ excitement for Thursday’s contest.

“They know how big the game is,” Turner Thorne said. “It’s a little different this year. We always talk about how each game is weighted the same, but at the same time it’s not since it’s so meaningful for Sun Devil nation.”

The experience factor will also be something to watch out for if this game remains close late. Arizona started three seniors and two juniors against USC, while ASU started two juniors, a sophomore and two freshmen against UCLA on Sunday.

“They [Arizona] do have a very talented roster and a really good core group of returning starters,” Turner Thorne said. “However I don’t think anyone in the country is as good as they want to be and we’re all still at the beginning stages of the season.”

San Diego comes to Desert Financial Arena on Sunday after defeating Cal State Fullerton on Tuesday 70-60 for their first win of the season. Erica Martinsen led the way with 16 points and five steals while Amanda Olinger had 13 points for the Toreros.

San Diego shared the ball really well on Tuesday, racking up 19 assists on 27 made field goals. On the defensive end, they forced 29 turnovers, turning them into 22 points on the other end of the floor. Their 49 forced turnovers and 17 steals make them a force on defense, which could be a problem for a struggling ASU offense.

Thursday’s rivalry showdown will be on the Pac-12 Network at 4 p.m MST, while Sunday’s game will be on Pac-12 Plus at 2 p.m MST.