(Photo: Brendan O’Keefe/WCSN)
With 10 games under their belt, the Arizona State Sun Devils (5-5) will enter the final stage of their non-conference matchups with hopes of entering conference play above .500.
Thus far, head coach Charli Turner Thorne and her squad have acquired five losses, with two coming from top-20 ranked teams. The remaining three losses came at the mercy of slow offensive starts.
But regardless of how the Sun Devils lost those games, they now face the unfortunate possibility of entering conference play below .500.
Even with that chance, Arizona State now gets set to take on the San Diego Toreros (7-2, 0-0 WCC) and UC Irvine Anteaters (5-4, 0-0 Big West) on Friday, Dec. 18, and Tuesday, Dec. 21, respectively, to determine their fate.
This weekend, ASU will take a trip to America’s Finest City to face the Toreros. San Diego will look to extend their winning streak to four games after defeating UC Irvine in their previous match, 75-64. Leading the way was senior guard Steph Gorman, who finished the game with 16 points, three assists and three steals.
Gorman has been the Toreros’ best player this season by being a menace on the offensive end. The 6-foot guard is averaging 12.5 points per game and has tallied 100 points in nine games played. So far on the season, Gorman has shot 44 percent from downtown and leads her team in points, assists and 3-pointers per game. If senior guard Taya Hanson and company can stop Gorman, ASU could escape San Diego with a victory.
After a visit to Jenny Craig Pavilion, the Sun Devils will return to Tempe for their final non-conference game against UC Irvine. The Anteaters will arrive at Desert Financial Arena following a 74-66 victory against San Jose State. Sophia Locandro erupted in the fourth quarter by having 14 of her team-high 18 points in the quarter. Sophomore Chloe Webb helped by scoring 11 points and grabbing 10 boards, her second double-double of the season.
Locandro and Webb were key contributors to the win, but they are just two players on head coach Tamara Inoue’s roster who can explode on the offensive end on any given night.
Redshirt freshman Kayla Williams has been the leader for the Anteaters, leading them into battle every game thus far. She is averaging 13.1 points, 4 assists and 2.4 steals per game. The 5-foot-7 guard is a great two-way player, which helps UCI create a score differential of +7.9 points per game.
The finale of non-conference play is officially underway and will wrap up following the UC Irvine game. After that, the Sun Devils will embark on a demanding journey through the Pac-12 Conference.
