Arizona State women's basketball doesn't have it all going into coach Charli Turner Thorne's 22nd season.
The No. 23-ranked Sun Devils are nowhere near as big as, say, their second opponent, No. 4 Baylor. They have some health concerns starting out stemming from off-season surgeries for guard Robbi Ryan and forward Jamie Ruden.
Big picture, ASU has the talent to challenge for not only a school record sixth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance but also to be a top-16 national seed and qualify tohost first- and second-round NCAA games for the first time since 2016.
The Sun Devils return all 10 full-season players from 2017-18 (guard Sabrina Haines, who played in nine games before a season-ending injury, transferred to Kentucky) and add four freshmen, all of whom Turner Thorne considers advanced enough to contribute.
Improved depth, particularly at point guard, will make a difference in sustaining defensive pressure and perhaps more importantly keeping players rested enough to be offensive threats.
"It's huge that everybody on our team catches to shoot," Turner Thorne said. "We want to make people guard us. We're trying to get everybody to really be a threat. That sounds so simple, but we weren't good at it last year. We really struggled to get all of our perimeter players to catch and shoot. And honestly, they were just tired. I think we'll continue to have a good inside game. Our posts are looking good."
Post play was the concern going into last season because of graduation losses, but Kianna Ibis rose to All Pac-12 level, averaging 12.9 points and 5.1 rebounds,Charnea Johnson-Chapman was solid at center (6.7 points, 6.5 rebounds) and junior college transfer Sophia Elenga became more confident as her first Division I year progressed.
Turner Thorne wants 6-1 Ibis to be more consistent offensively (she scored up to 30 points as a junior but wasn't always a threat) and to improve other parts of her game.
"We know Kianna can score," Turner Thorne said. "The biggest area of growth we need is that level of on the boards, running the floor, playing great defense. She's got long arms, she can get steals. I'm really challenging her in that area."
Three of ASU's returning starters off a 22-13, NCAA second-round team are seniors — Ibis, Johnson-Chapman and small forward Courtney Ekmark. Juniors Ryan and Reili Richardson are the incumbent starting guards.
When the Sun Devils reached the Elite Eight in 2007 and 2009, it was with a two point-guard backcourt that they now can replicate with the addition of freshman Iris Mbulito and Jamie Loera joining Richardson and junior Kiara Russell.
The 6-foot-1 Mbulito, originally scheduled to start at ASU in the second semester last season, was most valuable player at the U20 European Championship.She had 21 points and 12 rebounds for Spain in a gold-medal game win over Serbia.
Freshman wing Taya Hanson (silver, Canada) and Russell (gold, U.S.) also won medals during the summer at the U18 Americas Championship andFISU America Games.
ASU is predicted to finish fifth in the Pac-12 in the coaches and media polls, which would be one place higher than2017-18 and equal with 2016-17. That might be low although the Pac-12 is loaded again with defending champion Oregon (No. 3), Stanford (7) and Oregon State (8) among the top 10 of the AP preseason poll.
The Sun Devils have early chances to prove their worth against Baylor in a nationally televised game at Fort Defiance on Nov. 11 and No. 5 Louisville in Las Vegas on Nov. 23. They also play Arkansas, Alabama and Kansas State among 12 non-conference games before Pac-12 play begins Dec. 30.
"We want to be a top seed so we position ourselves to make a deep (NCAA) run," Turner Thorne said. "We spend very little time on outcome goals, but we've got to have a vision and know where we want to get to.
"Our themes are the power of team and one heartbeat because we have so much depth. It is probably going to be taking turns stepping up. Kind of like our Elite Eight teams. Those were deep teams, and we had options when somebody wasn't feeling it. We're used to being the tougher team, but haven't been fully that for a couple of years. Our goal is to be back at that level of toughness, which will separate us."
ASU women's basketball roster
Courtney Ekmark, 6-0 G/F, senior
Sophia Elenga, 6-1 F, senior
Taya Hanson, 5-10 G, freshman
Kianna Ibis, 6-1 F, senior
Charnea Johnson-Chapman, 6-3 C, senior
Jamie Loera, 5-9 G, freshman
Iris Mbulito, 6-1 G/F, freshman
Reili Richardson, 5-11 G, junior
Eva Rubin, 6-5 C, sophom*ore
Jamie Ruden, 6-2 F, junior
Kiara Russell, 5-8 G, junior
Robbi Ryan, 5-9 G, junior
Bre'yanna Sanders, 6-0 G/F, sophom*ore
Jayde Van Hyfte, 6-1 F, freshman
ASU schedule
Nov. 6: Incarnate Word, 8:30 p.m.
Nov. 11: vs. Baylor in Fort Defiance, 5:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
Nov. 18: at Arkansas (SEC Network)
Nov. 23: vs. Louisville in Las Vegas
Nov. 24: vs. Southern Illinois in Las Vegas
Dec. 1: Louisiana Tech, 1 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Dec. 2: Alabama or Tulsa, 2 p.m.
Dec. 7: Southern University, 6 p.m.
Dec. 9: at Colorado State
Dec. 16: vs. Kansas State in La Crosse, Wis.
Dec. 20: Fresno State, 2 p.m.
Dec. 30: at Arizona, 5 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Jan. 4: at Utah, 7 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Jan. 6: at Colorado, 2 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Jan. 11: Stanford, 7 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Jan. 13: California, 5 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Jan. 18: at Oregon, 7 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Jan 20: at Oregon State, 3 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Jan. 25: UCLA, 11 a.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Jan. 27: USC, 1 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Feb. 1: Arizona, 6 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Feb. 7: at Washington State, 8 p.m.
Feb. 9: at Washington, 3 p.m.
Feb. 15: Colorado, 6 p.m.
Feb. 17: Utah, 2 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Feb. 22: at California, 8 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
Feb. 24: at Stanford, 2 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
March 1: Oregon State, 6 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
March 3: Oregon, 1 p.m. (Pac-12 Network)
March 7-10: Pac-12 Tournament, Las Vegas (Pac-12 Network)
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