Next up, Sun Devils and Wildcats

The Cardinal begins conference play with a trip to the desert. In the past few seasons, the game at Arizona State has been one of the toughest conference road games for Stanford, the game at Arizona one of the easiest. Things may be different this season.

Arizona State Sun Devils

Arizona State lost Jill Noe and Reagan Pariseau to graduation, but all the others are back, including Danielle Orsillo who missed all of last season with a knee injury. And they added four freshmen and two transfers. They need a very long bench. They have 14 active players (out of 17 on the roster), ample for Charli Turner-Thorne's platoon substitutions.

Their top players are:

• Senior guard Briann January is #1 in the Pac-10 in steals/game (3.1) and assists/game (5.4), #2 in A/TO (2.3) and 3-Pt % (.453), #6 in free-throw % (.857), #8 in points/game (13.3)
• Junior guard Dymond Simon is #1 in the Pac-10 in free-throw % (.962), #7 in 3-Pt % (.375), #11 in points/game (12.8)
• Senior center Sybil Dosty is #3 in the Pac-10 in blocks/game (1.3), #5 in rebounds/game (7.9) and ASU's third-best scorer (10.1)
• Junior guard Danielle Orsillo is #3 in the Pac-10 in 3-Pt % (.400) and ASU's 4th best scorer (8.1)

The Sun Devils are not doing quite as well as might be expected this season with all that talent. Their win-loss record (8-4) places them 5th in the Pac-10, their RPI (30) places them 4th, and their schedule strength (30) places them 3rd. They dropped out of the AP Top 25 last week after blowing an 18-2 lead and losing to Nebraska.

However, they have won all six of their home games and will no doubt bring their best game to Wells Fargo Arena for their conference opener against arch-rival Stanford.

Here are their 2008-09 team statistics and their roster

Arizona Wildcats

Arizona is starting over this year. Only five players returned from last season. They've added five freshmen and two junior college transfers. They have apparently been revitalized by their new coach Niya Butts, who gets rave reviews from her associates, and who is described as energetic, passionate, driven, winner!

Only nine of the 13 players on their roster have seen action this season. The most active are:

• Sophomore forward Ify Ibekwe is #1 in the Pac-10 in rebounds/game (12.6), #2 in blocks/game (1.45), #3 in points/game (15.5), #4 in steals/game (1.9). She has seven double-doubles this season, the most in the Pac-10. The most recent one was her career-bests of 26 points and 20 rebounds. She has just been nominated to the Naismith Trophy Watch List.
• Freshman guard Reiko Thomas is #5 in the Pac-10 in free-throw % (.860) and Arizona's second-best scorer.
• Senior forward Amina Njonkou is #7 in the Pac-10 in rebounds/game (7.1) and Arizona's third-best scorer.
• Junior guard Ashley Frazier is tied for #4 in the Pac-10 in assists/game (4.18), #8 in A/TO (1.05)

Not surprisingly, those four are among the top 10 in minutes-played/game.

The Wildcats will not be a pushover this season. Their win-loss record (7-4) places them 6th in the Pac-10, their RPI (111) places them 7th, and their schedule strength (103) places them 7th.

Here are their 2008-09 team statistics and their roster