WBB Plays at San Francisco in Tuesday Matinee

GAME NO. 11: Sun Devil WBB (5-5) at San Francisco (2-6)
WHEN: Tuesday at 12 p.m. MST
WHERE: War Memorial at the Sobrato Center • San Francisco, Calif.
WATCH: ESPN+
RADIO: KDUS AM 1060 
LIVE STATS: Click here
 
UP NEXT
The Sun Devil women's basketball team (5-5) will try and come away with a split on its trip to Northern California when it plays at San Francisco (2-6) on Tuesday (12 p.m.). ASU started the trip with a 57-50 decision at UC Davis on Sunday. 
 
WATCH/LISTEN
Tuesday's game at UC Davis can be seen on ESPN+. It can also be heard on KDUS AM 1060. Veteran broadcaster and the state of Arizona's 2010 & 2019 Broadcaster of the Year Jeff Munn is in his 21st season as the voice of ASU WBB.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN  
Tuesday's game is the sixth of seven games in which ASU is on the road for a neutral site contest or as the away team in a true road game. ASU's game at Coppin State on Dec. 5 was its first true 'away' game of the season. 
 
Sunday's game at UC Davis was ASU's first contest in eight days due to final exams. It will be the second time the ASU has had more than a week in between games. Last month ASU had a nine-day gap: After defeating OSU in its most recent home game on Nov. 17, ASU did not play again until it left the state of Arizona for the first time this season to compete in the Coast2Coast Music City Classic in Nashville (Nov. 26 vs. then-No. 14 Kentucky and Nov. 27. vs. South Dakota).
 
ASU will play its third road game in six days when it opens Big 12 play at Utah on Sat., Dec. 21. After another nine-day hiatus, ASU will play its first 'home game' in 43 days when its hosts Penn (Dec. 30) in its first ever game at Mullett Arena, ASU's newest on-campus athletics Multi-Purpose Arena. On New Year's Day, ASU will be back in Desert Financial Arena, its usual home, for the first time in 45 days when its plays its inaugural Big 12 home game vs. Texas Tech.
 
SERIES NOTES
• This will be the fourth meeting between ASU and San Francisco. ASU has prevailed in all the prior contests, most recently 77-69 last season in Tempe. 
• Kadidia Toure posted her first career double-double with career highs in points (22) and rebounds (14) to go with three steals in the win.
 
RANKINGS OF NOTE
• Through games played Dec. 15, ASU is ranked among the top 60 teams in the nation in FT pct (17th/78.2/2nd in Big 12), blocks per game (46th/4.6/6th in Big 12) and defensive rebounds per game (43rd/28.5/6th in Big 12). 
• ASU is also ranked in the top half of the Big 12 in rebounds per game(40.5/5th), FTs made per game (7th/13.6), and offensive rebounds per game (12.0/8th)
• Individually, Kennedy Basham is 21st in the nation in blocks per game (2.3/2nd in Big 12) and Tyi Skinner is 33rd in FT percentage, (88.9/2nd in Big 12).
• ASU also has several players ranked among the Top 20 in the Big 12: Skinner is 3rd in minutes per game (33.83), 10th in scoring (17.0), 12th in both 3-pointers per game (2.2) and 3-point FG pct (37.3), 17th in assists per game (3.7) and 18th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.23); Jalyn Brown is 11th blocks per game (1.1), 14th in both scoring (16.3 ppg) and FT pct (76.3) and 20th in FG pct (42.7); Jazion Jackson is 3rd in steals per game (2.5) and 14th in rebounds per game (6.8); and Basham is 11th in rebounds per game (7.1).
 
NOTES FROM LAST GAME
• Despite a stout defensive effort and a plus-12 advantage on the boards, ASU came up on the short end of a 57-50 decision at UC Davis on Sunday.
• For the second straight game the Sun Devils held the opposition to the fewest points given up this season and allowed the Aggies to shoot only 37 percent. Unfortunately for ASU, it struggled to put the ball in the basket as it made just 28 percent of its shots and knocked down one of its 14 attempts from long range.
• Jalyn Brown led all scorers with 21 points to go with three steals. Leading ASU's effort on the boards was Maggie Besselink, who had game highs in rebounds (12) and offensive rebounds (7). For Besselink, who also had scored four points, her 12 boards were one short of matching her career high of 13 vs. USC on Mar. 3, 2021. Also providing the Sun Devils with strong rebounding performances were Kennedy Basham (6 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists) and Heavenly Greer (6 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals).
• ASU played at UC Davis without Nevaeh Parkinson, who currently leads the team in field goal percentage and is third in both scoring and rebounds.
 
STATE OF PLAY
• The Sun Devils (5-5), who have eight new players on this season's roster, have experienced the ups and downs that can sometimes go with combining the talents of several outstanding players early in the season. 
• After wins over SMU (80-73/Nov. 16) and former Pac-12 foe Oregon State (79-60/Nov. 17) in the annual Briann January Classic, ASU split its contests in Nashville, Tenn., falling to No. 14 Kentucky 77-61 before beating South Dakota 95-88. Nevaeh Parkinson was named to the Music City Classic All-Tournament Team. 
• Against Kentucky, Parkinson came one rebound short of a double-double, scoring nine of her 12 points and grabbing seven of her nine boards in the second half to help keep ASU within striking distance. The following day vs. South Dakota, she once again came off the bench and scored a team- and career-high 26 points. Parkinson's single-game field goal percentage of 92.3 percent on 12 of 13 shooting vs. South Dakota, was the best individual performance for a Sun Devil attempting 10 or more shots in a game since Betsy Boardman made all 10 of her shots (1.000) vs. UCLA on February 17, 2001. Parkinson was also ASU's top rebounder in the two contests (6.5 rebounds per game).
• ASU opened the 2024-25 campaign with a 74-66 win over Jacksonville State (Nov. 4). In her first game since the end of the 2022-23 season, Tyi Skinner, who missed the entire 2023-24 season due to injury, scored a career-high 30 points to go with a team-high five assists. Two of the newest members of the team – local product Kennedy Basham (8 points, game-high 10 rebounds, 4 blocks) and Parkinson (8 points) – combined for 16 points.
• Despite scoring 96 points – the most scored by ASU during head coach Natasha Adair's time at ASU – the Sun Devils were edged in a 100-96 decision to Arkansas State (Nov. 8). Five players scored in double figure against the Red Wolves: Brown (24 points), Parkinson (18 points), Skinner (16 points), Basham (14 points) and Kennedy Fauntleroy (13 points).
• In mid-November, ASU played three games in four days. The stretch started with a 70-59 loss against Grand Canyon in the Hall of Fame Series played at Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix. ASU led by as many as 12 in the first half and went to the locker room with a nine-point advantage, 42-33. Unfortunately for ASU, it experienced a 180-degree turnaround on both ends of the floor as it was outscored 37-17 over the final 20 minutes.
• The Sun Devils bounced back with consecutive wins over SMU (80-73 on Nov. 16) and former Pac-12 foe Oregon State (79-60 on Nov. 17). Against SMU, Skinner (26 points) and Brown (25 points) both came through with marquee performances as the duo combined for 51 points. In its win over Oregon State the following day, ASU allowed only 60 points and opponent season lows in field goals (19), 3-point field goals (3) and 3-point field goal percentage (13.0/3-23) and what were at the time season highs in shot blocks (8) and turnovers forced (19). In the end it added up to ASU's largest margin of victory this season. 
 
DYNAMIC DUO DEBUT
The 2023-24 Sun Devils were dealt a serious blow when it was announced before the season that superstar guard Tyi Skinner would miss the entire season due to a knee injury.
 
Skinner, who played her first two seasons at Delaware, joined Natasha Adair in Tempe after Adair was named ASU's head coach. In 2022-23, Skinner (2023 All-Pac-12 honorable mention) scored 20 or more points 15 times, including 29 points twice. A starter in all 28 games, Skinner averaged 19.3 ppg, (most by a Sun Devil since the 1988-89 ). She concluded her first campaign as a Sun Devil among the leaders in the Pac-12 in points per game (19.3/2nd/27th in the nation), 3-pointers per game (2.43 per game/2nd), minutes per game (36.59/3rd/29th in the nation), FTs made (79/3rd) and attempted (91/4th), steals per game (1.71/5th), 3-point FG pct (34.7/6th) and FT percentage (78.1/8th).
 
The 2023-24 Sun Devils were left pondering, 'what might have been,' had Skinner been able to share the court with Louisville transfer Jalyn Brown. Much like Skinner did in 2022-23, Brown would emerge as one of the top performers in the Pac-12 in 2023-24. In league games, Brown finished 3rd in the Pac-12 in scoring (19.6 ppg), 9th in FT percent (80.6) and tied for 14th in 3-pointers per game (1.56). She scored in double figures 26 times (12 20-point games) including a pair of outings in which she had the two highest-scoring games by a Sun Devil since 2000: 35 vs. Colorado (Jan. 7, 2024) and 34 points at Washington (Jan. 21).  
 
Brown, who earned All-Pac-12 honorable mention honors from the league's coaches and All-Pac-12 recognition from media who cover the league, went on to lead the team in scoring (17.3 ppg) and 3-pointers per game (1.4), was 2nd in FT pct. (76.9), 3-pointers (1.3 per game), minutes (35.54 mpg) and FTs made (103) and attempted (134), 3rd in assists (1.6 apg), tied for 3rd in steals (0.9 spg) and 4th in O-rebounds (1.1 rpg). 
 
In her first game since the end of the 2022-23 season, Skinner scored a career-high 30 points – the 17th time she scored 20 or more points in a Sun Devil uniform – in ASU's 74-66 win over Jacksonville State (Nov. 4). Brown led ASU in scoring (24 points) vs. Arkansas State (Nov. 8). Combined with Skinner's 16 points, the duo combined for 40 points in the game.  
 
In ASU's 80-73 win over SMU (Nov. 16), Skinner (26 points) and Brown (25 points) combined for 51 points. In addition both Skinner (8-16 FGs, 5-10 3FGs) and Brown (10-18 FGs, 3-7 3FGs) were efficient with their opportunities as they teamed up to shoot 53 percent (18-34 FGs) from the field, including 47 percent (8-17) from long range. Both have scored in double figures in all but two games his season. Out of the 10 games ASU has played thus far, Skinner has led or tied ASU in scoring 5 times and Brown 4 times.
 
OUTSTANDING OFFENSE
Prior to its loss at Coppin State, ASU showed what its offense was capable of, eclipsing the 90-point mark for the second time this season in a 95-88 win over South Dakota (Nov. 27).
 
Five players – Parkinson (career-high 26 points, 12-13 FGs), Skinner (20 points, team high-tying seven assists, 6-11 3FGs, 6 rebounds), Brown (19 points, team-high 7 rebounds, 4 assists, career-high 4 blocks), Jyah LoVett (14 points, 5 assists) and Kennedy Fauntleroy (14 points, team high-tying 7 assists, 5 rebounds) – scored in double figures for the Sun Devils (4-3), who surpassed the 50-percent mark in shooting (52.2) for the second time this season.
 
ASU knocked down 12 triples, two short of tying the school record of 14 and the most since hitting 13 against Marist on Nov. 21, 2021. All six of Skinner's field goals were from beyond the arc, one triple shy of tying the school record of seven accomplished by five Sun Devils, most recently Taya Hanson vs. Cal on New Year's Day in 2021.
 
As a team, the Sun Devils dished out 27 assists, the most helpers since it also had 27 vs. Arkansas on December 21, 2017. Earlier that season, the Sun Devils amassed a season-high 31 assists vs. Sacramento State on November 18, 2017.