(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
After sweeping the series the first time around, ASU women’s basketball will be looking for two more wins as it heads back to the Bay Area for matchups against Stanford and California.
In an up and down season for ASU, it has been injuries that have derailed the momentum the team built up after a six-game win streak, including four straight to start Pac-12 play.
Following the win streak, the Sun Devils endured a three-game losing streak as they experienced a plethora of injuries, including a concussion that held out second-leading scorer Jamie Ruden in the first two games of the losing streak.
After a two-game hiatus, Ruden returned to the court for ASU against Utah but in limited action as she missed the entire week of practice with the injury.
“I think she’s had a good week this week and I’m hoping we can get her. She was kind of building up her minutes and then I think I was a little careful with her,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “She didn’t practice all week, we just kind of threw her out there against Utah and Colorado. Hopefully this week we can get her back to where she was before she got injured.”
The advantage of having Ruden in the lineup will help the overall depth of a team that has already experienced one season-ending injury in junior Sabrina Haines, who tore her ACL in early December.
While the team may be depleted in terms of depth, ASU has used the players they do have effectively. The Sun Devils have dominated in several areas during Pac-12 play, including a dominant performance on the boards against Stanford the first time around.
“They are going to rebound like they have never rebounded before because we outrebounded them by 23 and that was the biggest difference in the game,” Turner Thorne said.
Despite the performance in the first game, where the Sun Devils came out on top of the Cardinal 73-66, ASU is expecting a challenging matchup against Stanford.
“Stanford is obviously a storied program, very well coached, very disciplined very tough and they’re getting better,” Turner Thorne said. “I think they’re better now than they were the first time we played them.”
The second game of the series will be a matchup between Top 25 teams as the Sun Devils enter the weekend ranked No. 25 and will face off against No. 23 California.
ASU will look to slow down the dynamic duo of Asha Thomas and Kristine Anigwe. The duo combined for 49 of their team’s 71 in the first matchup between the teams.
While the Pac-12 gauntlet doesn’t get any easier for ASU, it will look to find the same rhythm that led to four straight wins to begin Pac-12 play.
Tipoff between the Sun Devils and Stanford is set for Friday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. MST, and Cal will host ASU on Sunday, Jan. 28, at 4 p.m. MST.
