On Friday at 5:00 PM PT on Pac-12 Networks and Varsity Network radio, #6 Stanford women’s basketball will head to Tempe to battle Arizona State. Stanford comes in at 17-2 overall and 6-1 in the Pac-12 while Arizona State comes in at 9-10 overall and 1-6 in the Pac-12.
Last time out: Stanford defeated Oregon State 65-56. Stanford head coach Tara VanDerveer became the winningest head coach in NCAA basketball history with 1,203 wins while Stanford junior Kiki Iriafen had a career-high 36 points and 12 rebounds.
RECAP: Kiki Iriafen shines as Tara VanDerveer breaks NCAA wins record
On Arizona State: It’s been a rough season for the Sun Devils as they are 9-10 overall and 1-6 in the Pac-12. They did ok in the non-conference, but conference play bas been a different story. That said, they did pick up their first win of league play in their most recent game, which was at Washington. They won by a final score of 73-65, so they are coming in with at least a bit of momentum.
The Sun Devils are led by sophomore guard Jalyn Brown, who is averaging 17.3 points per game on 42.9% shooting from the field, 34.9% shooting from 3-point range, and 81.1% shooting from the foul line. She is coming off a 34 point explosion in their win over Washington. The other two Sun Devils scoring in double figures on average are senior guard Jaddan Simmons and sophomore guard Trayanna Crisp. Both players are scoring 10.9 points per game.
As a team, the Sun Devils average 64.3 points per game on 39.1% shooting from the field, 31.6% shooting from 3-point range, and 69.5% shooting from the foul line. They average 34.4 rebounds, 9.6 assists, 7.9 steals, 2.4 blocks, and 13.3 turnovers per game. They also average a -5.3 rebound margin and a +2.7 turnover margin per game. Their opponents average 68.5 points per game on 41.9% shooting from the field, 32.3% shooting from 3-point range, and 70.2% shooting from the foul line.
Keys to the game: For Stanford, the first thing they need to do is contain Brown. She’s the main offensive threat for this Sun Devils team. If she has a 25+ point kind of night, maybe the Sun Devils keep this interesting. If they are able to hold her to under 20 points, even just slightly above her scoring average, I like their chances to win.
The second thing Stanford needs to do is dominate inside. The Sun Devils are used to losing the rebounding battle rather decisively with their -5.3 rebound margin. Stanford in contrast averages a +15.5 rebound margin per game. Stanford should be all over the boards tonight.
Finally, Stanford needs to keep feeding Kiki Iriafen. She’s coming off her first Pac-12 Player of the Week award and has really been in a nice flow lately. If they can get her going and get more of what they’ve been seeing from her lately, it’ll be smooth sailing tonight.
Prediction: I got Stanford winning handily. They’re a top ten team in the nation while Arizona State has struggled mightily in league. As for a final score, I think it’ll be 74-56. If Cameron Brink once again has to miss the game due to injury, I don’t see the Cardinal cracking 80 points.
UPDATE: Cameron Brink will be back for tonight's game. She's been cleared to play. Still gonna roll with my same prediction score, though.
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