After a shocking 75-64 loss to California in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 tournament, a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament seemed like pie in the sky for ASU women's basketball.
But on National Pi Day, the Sun Devils (25-6, 16-2 Pac-12) were equally shocked to find out that they indeed earned a No. 2 seed and will face No. 15 New Mexico State in the opening round of the Sioux Falls region. A two-seed in the NCAA tournament is the highest in program history.
"We had the number one RPI conference in the nation and shared the Pac-12 championship," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "I absolutely think it was our schedule — a lot of our losses were close games against top teams."
No. 1 seed South Carolina, a team that ASU nearly defeated in the Hawaii tournament early in the season without junior forwards Kelsey Moos and Sophie Brunner, headlines a Sioux Falls region that also features No. 3 Ohio State and No. 4 Syracuse. The Orange fell at home to the Sun Devils 61-54 on Dec. 12.
ASU struggled toward the end of what was otherwise the most successful regular season in program history: One that saw the Sun Devils ranked as high as No. 7 nationally in the AP poll.
After Ohio State was announced as the No. 3 seed in the region, players and coaches let out a collective sigh — likely at the prospect of either being a four seed or ending up in Connecticut's region. But cheers soon erupted in the Carson Student-Athlete Center as Tempe was revealed to be one of the sub-regionals.
Junior forward Sophie Brunner called the announcement a "great surprise."
"To see that we got a No. 2 seed just means that all of our hard work has paid off," Brunner said. "I'm just glad (the committee) had faith in us and they know our potential."
The top seeds in regions across the country include No. 1 Connecticut and No. 2 Texas in the Bridgeport region, No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Maryland in the Lexington region and No. 1 Baylor in the Dallas region.
Oregon State is the No. 2 seed in Dallas, and three other Pac-12 teams join the Beavers and Sun Devils in the NCAA tournament: UCLA, Stanford and Washington.
Since 2013, the first two rounds of the women's tournament have been dubbed sub-regionals because the top four seeds in each region host their first two games. If ASU is able to get past the Aggies on Friday in Tempe, their round of 32 game against the winner of Tennessee vs. Green Bay will be on Sunday, also in Tempe.
Senior point guard Elisha Davis said it's "beautiful" to play NCAA tournament games in front of home fans.
"Our home fans give us so much energy," Davis said. "We feel the love, we feel the connectedness and we feel the support."
Tip off for ASU vs. New Mexico State is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena, while Tennessee and Green Bay will square off at 2 p.m. the same day.
Related links:
Cal shocks ASU women's basketball in first round of Pac-12 tournament
State Press women's basketball roundtable: Pac-12 Tournament preview
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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