Sun Devils round out non-conference play with Santa Clara bout

(Photo via Alyssa Buruato/WCSN)

Arizona State women’s basketball will play its last non-conference game of the season on Saturday against Santa Clara following back-to-back losses to in-state rivals Arizona and GCU and a much-needed 80-76 victory over Fresno State.

As they prepare for conference play, the Sun Devils (8-4, 0-1 Pac-12) take on the Broncos (11-3) in an attempt to generate momentum. ASU just had its highest-scoring game of the year, with multiple players scoring 20 or more points in the affair.

Eleven non-conference victories for Santa Clara are the most since the team’s 11 victories in the 2007-08 season. Two of Santa Clara’s three losses were against teams ASU is familiar with, including Pac-12 Conference rivals Oregon State and California. Earlier this season, Santa Clara defeated the Oregon Ducks by a margin of 39, the program’s largest victory over a Pac-12 opponent.

Santa Clara has won five of its last six, including a 113-37 victory over Lincoln, which set a multitude of program records for scoring, including points and field goals made in a single game for the Broncos. During the game, seven different players saw themselves in double-digit scoring. The Broncos have high aspirations for a season that has seen continuous high-scoring affairs.

Tess Heal, a sophomore guard from Melbourne, Australia, leads the charge for the Broncos. Heal was voted West Coast Conference Newcomer of the Year in her freshman season and was chosen for the All-WCC first team, averaging 17.6 points and 4.0 assists per game, tied for 29th in the nation for total assists.

She has picked up right where she left off this season, earning a spot on the Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team and winning the WCC Player of the Week award on Nov. 20. Heal averages 17.1 points and dishes out 4.4 assists per game on average. She’ll be the focal point of the Santa Clara offense come Saturday against ASU.

Santa Clara comes into Desert Financial Arena allowing only 53.5 points per game, ranking them 23rd in the country in that metric. Santa Clara’s defense has been a trend this season, and it’s a big reason for their success; they force 17.1 turnovers per game, coupled with 7.9 steals per game, while only handing the ball over 13.5 times per game.

ASU head coach Natasha Adair has emphasized repeatedly that one of the keys to winning is striving to turn the ball over less than 10 times per game, despite ASU’s season average of 13.8. The turnover differential – as well as ASU’s ability to break through a defense that has been rock solid to open the season – will be crucial in Saturday’s game.

The Sun Devils finished 8-20, and 1-17 in conference play last season, after beginning the season 7-4 in non-conference play. With a victory on Saturday, the Sun Devils will have more total wins this year than they had all of last season. While the question of whether the Sun Devils will struggle in the Pac-12 as they get ready to transition to conference play emerges once again, a win over Santa Clara on Saturday could help clear up that picture.