ASU Basketball: Sun Devils face stiff road test vs. No. 13 Florida State

After winning their second straight ASU Classic tournament title, ASU women’s basketball travels cross country to face No. 13 Florida State.

ASU basketball faced its challenges last weekend in the ASU Classic, grinding out a victory over Buffalo last Saturday and then dominating UC Riverside Sunday with victory proving to be costly.

Guards Sabrina Haines and Robbi Ryan each went down with injuries against the Highlanders. Head coach Charli Turner Thorne said after the game Sunday that she did not have an update on Haines’ status while Ryan is said to be OK.

Haines’ injury seems to be more serious as she was seen on the bench in crutches after being taken back into the locker room for evaluation.

If Haines is out long-term for Arizona State, it would be a huge blow for the Sun Devils as she’s one of the more vocal players on the teams and one of the team’s best defenders.

Fortunately for Turner Thorne, the backcourt is deep with guards Reili Richardson, Kiara Russell and Robbi Ryan and they will have to step up to fill Haines’ void.

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Arizona State is entering the home stretch of the non-conference slate as they will travel cross country to face a familiar foe, Florida State.

This will be the third time in four seasons the two teams have met. The first meeting came in the NCAA Tournament in 2015 when the Seminoles held on for a 66-65 win in the Sweet 16 ending ASU’s season.

The two met again in Tempe the following season where Arizona State came out on top defeating FSU 68-56.

While many of those players have gone on and graduated, there is still some holdovers.

For Arizona State to be successful Sunday, they will need to stop Florida State senior forward Shakayla Thomas.

Thomas, who averaged 14.9 points per game and 6.0 rebounds last season and was picked by the ACC coaches as Player of the Year, is averaging a team-high 21.2 points per game and 7.6 rebounds per game.

The senior forward was named espnW National Player of the Week Monday after recording 31 points and 10 rebounds last Wednesday in a comeback win at Iowa. Thomas followed up that performance with 26 points and four rebounds last Saturday in a win at James Madison.

This will be a tall task for the Sun Devils defense as forward Kianna Ibis will be the player most likely to defend Thomas.

Another player to watch for Florida State is center Chatrice White, who is the reigning ACC Sixth Player of the Year.

White is averaging 10.3 points per game and 8.7 rebounds per game in 23.3 minutes per game this season.

Arizona State will need strong guard play, especially if Haines is out, and will hope to get off to a strong start. The Sun Devils have started slow in four previous games before starting off strong against UC Riverside.

Turner Thorne said after Sunday’s game that she wants her team to work on not having so many sloppy possessions.

Next: ASU Women’s Basketball: Sun Devils impress in ASU Classic

Arizona State will look to pick up a marquee win for the resume come March at No. 13 Florida State before ending non-conference play with home games versus Idaho and Arkansas. Tip-off of Arizona State-Florida State is at noon MT and the game can be seen on ESPN3.