Sun Devils celebrate senior day and face unexpected adversity

(Photo: Travis Whittaker/WCSN)

Arizona State’s women’s basketball team celebrated senior day on Sunday at Desert Financial Arena, commemorating the careers of five players on their roster.

The ceremony took place on the court immediately following ASU’s 55-44 loss to the Stanford Cardinal (25-5, 14-4).

Robbi Ryan, Reili Richardson, Kiara Russell and Jamie Ruden have spent four years under coach Charli Turner Thorne, while Ja’Tavia Tapley finished her undergraduate degree in three years at USC before transferring to ASU to use her last year of eligibility.

Ruden reflected fondly on her time as a Sun Devil.

“I’m just really thankful to have been here for four years.” Ruden said. “We’re just given so much opportunity to just grow as people and to grow together as a family, as part of this team.”

Turner Thorne commended her seniors’ on court abilities, and their individual growth.

“I think all five of them can be pros if they want to be,” Turner Thorne said. “They’ve got some great plans, and that’s what we care about here. We care about preparing them for life after basketball, because we know they’re not going to get rich with their pro careers.”

All five seniors have played a part in the program’s success this year.

They’ve helped guide ASU (20-10, 10-8) to its fourth-straight 20-win season, and it’s fourth straight NCAA tournament qualification. Richardson became the school’s all-time leader in assists just last week, and all of the seniors except Russell, who did not play due to injury, scored 12 or more points in the Sun Devils’ upset of then No. 2 ranked Oregon on Jan. 10.

ASU went on to beat No. 3 Oregon State two days later in a game Russell did compete in, making national headlines as the first unranked team in 20 seasons to defeat two top-5 teams in consecutive games.

Ruden sees that stretch as a defining moment in the Sun Devils’ season thus far.

“Beating Oregon and Oregon State was so fun. That was just a powerful moment because it really just showed us that we could come together and battle against top teams,” Ruden said.

“I want to look back to those memories as we go into postseason to just keep the momentum and that same fire going.”

Their momentum took a huge hit during Sunday’s game when Russell went down hard with an injury early in the second quarter. After a brief stint in the locker room, she returned to the bench later in the game on crutches and in a full leg brace.

Turner Thorne teared up when asked about the injury.

“It’s her knee. It doesn’t look good,” she said. “I don’t think we can overstate the impact it had, because everybody’s seen that before.”

Ryan agreed, clearly shaken and disappointed for her teammate.

“It had a tremendous impact. She’s one of our senior leaders, our starting guards,” Ryan said. “She brings something to our team that is not seen on the stat sheets. So it’s definitely a big loss, and we’re just playing for her.”

Sunday’s game marked ASU’s first match-up with Stanford this season, and their last game of the regular season. The Pac-12 tournament begins on Thursday, and the Sun Devils will face the conference’s twelfth ranked team, the California Golden Bears, at 12:30 MT.

ASU jumped in and out of the top-25 all year, but Turner Thorne is confident that her team’s play during the regular season will propel them to success in postseason play.

“Your Pac-12 season pretty much defines you, it dictates what kind of March you have. We have a good resume, and we’ve earned a March,” Turner Thorne said. “We’ve got a lot of season left, so we’re going to have a little party because their family’s here in town, but we’re gonna get back to work and get ready for March Madness.”

Ruden said Turner Thorne’s teachings will help the team start the postseason on the right foot, even after facing some adversity.

“One of the big things she’s taught us over the years is next play. Having that next play mentality of just pushing forward, pressing on and kind of forgetting what’s behind and just focusing on the present moment, making the most of it,” Ruden said. “I think if we can do that we’re going to have a fun rest of the season and hopefully finish strong.”