Fresh off the news that it earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament, ASU women's basketball is "ready to play," head coach Charli Turner Thorne said.
The Sun Devils (25-6, 16-2 Pac-12) will face No. 15 seed New Mexico State in the first round of the tournament, followed by the winner of No. 10 Tennessee vs. No. 7 Green Bay if they are able to advance.
The Aggies (26-4, 13-1) hail from the Western Athletic Conference, and come into the tournament winners of 20 of their last 21 games. As far as comparisons to the strength of the Pac-12 go, on Dec. 2 NMSU played at Arizona and lost by a score of 68-64. The Wildcats finished 11th in the Pac-12 with a 3-15 conference record.
Senior guard Katie Hempen isn't overlooking the Aggies, however.
"New Mexico State is going to be a really tough team," Hempen said. "And we don't look at numbers next to the name, because obviously (if you look at) the last two games of ours, numbers don't matter."
ASU lost its last two games of the season — on the road at UCLA by double digits followed by a surprise upset in the Pac-12 tournament to 10th seeded California.
Turner Thorne said she wasn't as concerned as most people are about the subpar finish to what was an otherwise stellar season for the Sun Devils.
"We had, I think counting Seattle, four out of six weeks on the road and the higher end teams on the second half," Turner Thorne said. "If you look at our schedule, we held up pretty well, but we did run out of gas — we were just spent."
In the middle portion of its schedule, ASU achieved a 15-game winning streak before falling to Oregon State 67-44 on the road. After that disappointing outing, the Sun Devils rattled off a seven-game conference win streak before the two-game skid at the season's conclusion.
Two home games separate ASU from the Sweet 16 in the Sioux Falls region, and a new win streak has never been more necessary for a Sun Devil team with aspirations for a deep postseason run.
Defense and communication will be crucial to paving the winning path, and that starts with senior point guard Elisha Davis, whose vocality and intensity on the court have stood out this season.
"I would say the key, other than having good defense, is our communication," Davis said. "Our key is to run and run and run — and bring the pressure on defense."
Given that it runs a full-court press, Turner Thorne compared New Mexico State to Syracuse, and called the Aggies a "very good offensive team" that averages around 70 points per game. Despite the seed disparity, a fast-paced and intense game should be on the docket in Tempe.
Tip off for ASU vs. New Mexico State is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. on Friday at Wells Fargo Arena.
Reach the reporter at rclarke6@asu.edu or follow @RClarkeASU on Twitter.
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