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ASU Women’s Basketball: Devils open season with high expectations

By Sam Ficarro

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil stands on the court during a first-round game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the USC Trojans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 11, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. USC won 67-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 11: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil stands on the court during a first-round game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the USC Trojans at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on March 11, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada. USC won 67-64. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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ASU women’s basketball opens the 2018-19 season Tuesday with high expectations as the team returns everybody while adding a talented freshman quartet.

“We’ve got four seniors, we’ve got talent, we’ve got depth, we’ve got experience so we have no excuses.”

Those are the words of Arizona State women’s basketball head coach Charli Turner Thorne as the Sun Devils embark on the 2018-19 season Tuesday against Incarnate Word.

The Sun Devils, ranked 23rd in the AP preseason poll, finished last season 22-13 placing sixth in the Pac-12, reaching the Pac-12 Tournament semifinals and the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they fell to No. 2 Texas 85-65.

Arizona State is expected to roll out the same starting lineup as last season led by forward Kianna Ibis and guard Reili Richardson.

Ibis had a breakout season for the Sun Devils finishing with a team-high 12.9 points per game shooting 49.5 percent from the field. The senior forward had 27 points and six rebounds in the team’s loss to the Longhorns.

Now having a year’s work of starter minutes, Ibis should be conditioned to take on a bigger role this season.

After leading the team with 166 assists last season, Richardson enters her junior season having worked on her 3-point game after struggling from beyond the arc last season.

Arizona State hopes to add a potent 3-point game after the team shot 32.9 percent from deep last season. Courtney Ekmark, another senior, was the team’s best 3-point shooter making 58 threes.

Joining Richardson in the backcourt is guard Robbi Ryan, who will start right out of the gates for the first time of her career after becoming a starter midseason replacing injured starters.

Ryan averaged 10.2 points per game last season while being one of the best defenders in the Pac-12.

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Inside, the Sun Devils feature tremendous depth in center Charnea Johnson-Chapman and forward Sophia Elenga. Both were featured prominently last season as two of the team’s best rebounders.

They will be tested early as ASU will face No. 4 Baylor on Veteran’s Day in a neutral site game on the Navajo Reservation in Fort Defiance, Ariz.

The Lady Bears feature two of the best forward in college basketball in center Kalani Brown and forward Lauren Cox.

Brown averaged 20.0 points per game and 10.5 rebounds last season while Cox averaged 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds.

Joining the Sun Devils this season is a freshmen class of four players featuring Taya Hanson, Iris Mbulito, Jamie Loera and Jayde Van Hyfte.

Turner Thorne said that she’s expect all four freshmen to contribute this season with Hanson and Mbulito as the two most primed to get a large chunk of minutes.

Hanson, the No. 65 prospect according to ESPN’s HoopGurlz Top 100, averaged 11.5 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game this summer representing Canada at the FIBA U18 Championships.

She’s joins a talented backcourt group in Richardson, Ryan, Kiara Russell, Jamie Ruden and Bre’yanna Sanders.

Mbulito could be the breakout star for Arizona State after a massive summer representing Spain at the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship. She was named MVP after averaging 9.7 PPG and 7.7 RPG while posting a double-double (21 points and 12 rebounds) in the gold medal game.

The Spanish forward brings an element Arizona State hasn’t had in a while in a slasher. Mbuilto is known for ability to attack the rim and ability to score tough contested shots in the paint.

She’s the ideal complement to Ekmark, who’s more of a perimeter shooter.

It’s a tough non-conference schedule for the Sun Devils having to face the aforementioned Lady Bears in the second game of the season followed by a clash with No. 5 Louisville in Las Vegas on Nov. 23.

The Cardinals are coming off a Women’s Final Four appearance led by National Player of the Year candidate Asia Durr. Louisville returns four starters this season.

Arizona State will also face Arkansas, Kansas State and potentially Alabama in the non-conference slate before beginning Pac-12 play.

The Pac-12 is as deep as it’s ever been with Oregon, Stanford and Oregon State leading the pack with Arizona State right there in the conversation.

Throw in Cal, UCLA, USC and a much improved Arizona team, the Pac-12 could be looking at eight to nine NCAA Tournament teams come March.

It will be a challenging season for ASU but Turner Thorne has set the goals high for the Sun Devils.

Next. ASU Women’s Basketball: A look at potential rotations. dark

“(Our goal is) to be elite and to be in a position to win championships. I was really proud of what they did last year but we just had limitations with a lack of experience and lack of depth,” Turner Thorne said. “Now we don’t have those limitations. We’re really pushing hard to be an elite team and to be one of the best teams in the country.”

All quotes in this article were obtained firsthand by Devils in Detail unless otherwise noted.