ASU Women’s Basketball: Tough road test lies ahead for Sun Devils

(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)

Over the last two weeks, the college football programs at Florida State and Arizona State University have been in total turmoil.

However, with both programs now settling on a head football coach on the gridiron, another sport will come into focus on Sunday afternoon in Tallahassee.

The ASU women’s basketball team will take on the No. 13 Florida State Seminoles this Sunday at the Donald L. Tucker Center.

“The game against Florida State is a fun game for us,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “It’s a top-ranked team on the road, so it’s a great challenge.”

FSU is coming off of a 2016-17 season in which the Seminoles reached the Elite Eight. Following a strong performance in March, FSU is back this season with a 9-0 record in non-conference play under legendary head coach Sue Semrau.

Semrau is a four-time ACC Coach of the Year, and she is the winningest coach in school history, tallying a career record of 401-233 over the last two decades.

During their dominant start to this season, the Seminoles are averaging over 90 points a game, out-rebounding their opponents by 20 while shooting nearly 50 percent from the field.

“Their top-five, six (players) are really efficient and can score,” Turner Thorne said. “They are going to be the best rebounding team we have played so far this year.”

One of the key standouts for the Seminoles is senior forward Shakayla Thomas. Thomas was named the ESPNW Player of the Week last week after averaging 28.5 points and seven rebounds during a two-game stretch against Iowa and James Madison University.

In addition to Thomas, FSU redshirt senior guard Imani Wright is averaging 15.6 points a game, and graduate transfer AJ Alix is averaging 13.2 points a game while leading the team in assists as a point guard.

Alix and Wright are both transfers from the Big 12 Conference, with Alix transferring from TCU while Wright transferred from Baylor University. Altogether, the FSU roster features four transfers and three international players to round out a mixture of talented assets that have been able to produce so far this season.

With the astounding numbers in mind, ASU has gone to the drawing board in practice this week to prepare for the Seminoles’ potent offensive attack.

“It’s going to be important to know personnel, and locking down the big three (Alix, Wright and Thomas),” ASU junior forward Kiana Ibis said. “And making sure they don’t touch the ball and making sure they don’t get points that they are used to getting. We just have to be ready and be prepared to lock them down.”

Aside from the Seminoles offense, one of the question marks for ASU will be the role of ASU junior guard Sabrina Haines.

Haines hobbled off of the court with what appeared to be a leg injury during ASU’s 73-48 win over UC Riverside on Sunday afternoon, and she did not return to the game. There has been no official indication on whether she will be able to play on Sunday afternoon in Tallahassee.

The senior guard is currently second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.2 points a game behind Ibis.

Regardless of whether Haines will be able to go or not, the Sun Devils have had other players step up this season.

ASU sophomore forward Jamie Ruden and sophomore guard Robbi Ryan have played valuable minutes for the Sun Devils in recent weeks.

Ruden is averaging 10 points per game while leading the team in shooting from beyond the arc. Ryan has also added to the cause by averaging 8.8 points in a well-balanced ASU scoring attack.

“With or without Sabrina, we have good pieces,” Turner Thorne said. “We just have to be more consistent. We have to be more connected, and if we get there, we are really good.”

Aside from Ruden and Ryan, sophomore point guard Reili Richardson is another player who has elevated her play over the last couple of weeks.

After going through a rough week with an injured finger — and food poisoning at the beginning of the season — Richardson has returned to her normal self.

The sophomore from Brea, California has the controls for the ASU offense. On Sunday, she dropped 10 points and was named to the all-tournament team for her play during the ASU Classic Tournament.

“Last game, I got my scoring going,” Richardson said. “I think it’s just taking whatever is open in the games, whether that’s an open pass or an open shot.”

Last March, ASU’s season ended at the hands of the South Carolina Gamecocks — a team that went on to win the NCAA Championship. Flash forward to this season, and the Sun Devils have seven returning players from last year’s team.

Similar to last year’s trip to Columbia, ASU will fly across the country to Tallahassee to take on an elite opponent. However, the Sun Devils will be looking for a different result this time around.

“There’s nothing that this team hasn’t seen. It’s like South Carolina,” Turner Thorne said. “South Carolina, they had 8,000 screaming fans, so I feel like this team has sort of been in this environment and came up a little bit short (last season), so we are going to try and get over the hump.”

Tipoff between ASU and Florida State is set for Sunday, Dec. 10 at 12 p.m. MST.

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