Next: Away in the desert

The Cardinal travels to the desert this week to play:

• Arizona in Tucson on Friday evening at 6:00 PT
• Arizona State in Tempe on Monday afternoon at 4:00 PT

Both games will be televised by Pac-12 Networks, streamed online by Pac-12 Networks, and broadcast by KZSU. Arizona live stats here and Arizona State live stats here.

Amber and Chiney won the best-stats sombreros last time

  Arizona Wildcats

The Wildcats have lost the only two players that started every game last season — All-Pac-12 guard Davelynn White and senior forward Alli Gloyd. White graduated and Gloyd tore her ACL in October. Between them, they accounted for 31% of the Wildcat rebounds and 31% of the points last season.

The Wildcats have been struggling with missed opportunities and inconsistency this season. They lost seven of their first eight non-conference games, but two of the losses were in overtime and only one was by more than 10 points. They closed the non-conference season with three victories. Then they faltered again with four losses in conference play — to USC by nine points, to UCLA by six, to UW by three and to WSU by two.

So close! So frustrating! Sixth year head coach Niya Butts says, "It's hard on them (the players), they want to win and to do well, so it's hard for them.”

The starters for the Wildcats are:

• #1, 5'5' redshirt junior guard Candice Warthen is back in action after redshirting last season with a torn ACL. She leads the Wildcats in scoring (13.0 points per game) and steals (1.6 per game). She also averages 4.4 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game.


• #10, 6'0" senior guard/forward Kama Griffitts is the second-best scorer with 10.3 points per game and the best 3-point shooter. She takes more than half her shots from beyond the arc and makes almost 40% of them — on average, 2.1 per game. She also averages 4.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game.


• #4, 5'8" senior guard Carissa Crutchfield is the most careful ball handler. She averages 3.5 assists per game, and her assist/turnover ratio is 1.8 (fifth best in the Pac-12). She averages 7.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.


• #24, 6'1" freshman forward LaBrittney Jones gets the most rebounds (6.2 per game) and blocks (1.3 per game). She averages 7.0 points per game.


• #0, 6'1" freshman forward Breanna Workman averages 6.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.

The Wildcats have a very short bench — just three healthy reserves. The most notable is senior forward Erica Barnes, who is the Wildcats' third-best scorer (8.1 points per game) and second-best rebounder (5.2 per game).

The Wildcat's win-loss record (4-11 overall, 0-4 conference), their RPI (247), and their strength of schedule rank (152) all place them last in the Pac-12

Here are their statistics and roster.

  Arizona State Sun Devils

With head coach Charli Turner Thorne back for the second season since her sabbatical (her 17th year in all), the Sun Devils are back in form as a top-tier team in the Pac-12.

The Sun Devils won all but one of their non-conference games, including ranked teams No. 11 North Carolina and No. 20 Syracuse. It was their best start in 27 years. They began conference play with a loss to WSU, then won the next three. Their last two games (against UCLA and USC) were very hard-fought contests that went into overtime.

Arizona State is now ranked in the AP poll for the fourth week in a row, coming in at No. 19 this week, and it enters the coaches poll for the first time this season (at No. 24 ).

The Sun Devils are a well-balanced team. Coach Charli still uses her, as Tara calls it, "deli style of play". She has a nine-player rotation who average from 17.1 to 25.8 minutes per game, 3.9 to 11.6 points, and 1.6 to 6.5 rebounds

There's no point to identifying the starters nor the most productive players. These are the five Sun Devils who lead the team in at least one statistical category:

• #5, 5'7" redshirt senior guard Deja Mann plays the most minutes (25.8), scores the most points (11.6), and makes the most 3-pointers (2.0) per game.


• #0, 5'9" redshirt sophomore guard Katie Hempen takes the most 3-pointers (53% of her shots from beyond the arc), but doesn't make as many as Deja (1.5 per game).


• #21, 6'1" freshman forward Sophie Brunner grabs the most rebounds (6.5 per game) and has the best field goal percentage (57.8%).


• #23, 5'3" sophomore guard Elisha Davis dishes out the most assists (3.4 per game), but has only a fair assist/turnover ratio (1.4).


• #10, 5'8" junior guard Promise Amukamara snatches the most steals (1.6 per game) and has the best free-throw percentage (83%).

The Sun Devil's win-loss record (14-2 overall,3-1 conference) places them fifth in the Pac-12, their RPI (9) places them second, and their strength of schedule rank (44) places them ninth.

Here are their statistics and roster.