Sun Devils cross town to test unbeaten Lopes

Wednesday, November 30

Phoenix, Ariz.

7 p.m.

Grand Canyon

Arizona State

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11/29/2022 4:30:00 PM | Women's Basketball, Paul Coro

Valley neighbors expect electric GCU Arena environment Wednesday night

By: Paul Coro

Wednesday, Nov. 30 \| 7 p.m. \| GCU Arena \| Phoenix, Ariz.

	ARIZONA STATE SUN DEVILS (5-1)	at	GRAND CANYON LOPES (5-0)

WATCH: FOX 10 Xtra (Ch. 45, Cable 9), ESPN+ \| LISTEN: 1580 The Fanatic \| STATS: View

The Grand Canyon women's basketball program has been waving arms like mad defensively to try to grab the attention of the Valley.

The results included 40 wins in the previous two GCU seasons combined and the national lead in steals this season during the Lopes' undefeated start. If GCU takes its first-ever 5-0 start to 6-0 on Wednesday n Phoenix, AZ. Nov. 25, 2022: The lLopes cruise to a 97-46 win over Lindenwood during the GCU Womens Basketball Classic at GCU Arena.

Phoenix, AZ. Nov. 25, 2022: The lLopes cruise to a 97-46 win over Lindenwood during the GCU Womens Basketball Classic at GCU Arena.

ight against perennially strong Arizona State (5-1), the Lopes will give notice beyond the thousands in GCU Arena and reach those watching the 7 p.m. tip-off on FOX 10 Xtra locally and ESPN+ streaming.

"It's a great billboard game on the outside," said Lopes head coach Molly Miller, who is 45-18 at GCU. "Internally, we're preparing to win like any other game."

GCU and ASU have not played a women's basketball game since Dec. 22, 1994, and have only met twice ever with the Sun Devils winning both games long before the Lopes moved to Division I in 2013.

The game hype is not lost on any player in purple, but Valley prep products Sydney Palma (Boulder Creek High School in Anthem) and Dominique Phillips (Millennium High School in Goodyear) especially get the meaning of starting a home-and-home series with crosstown ASU.

GCU won 109-53 in its season opener against Arizona Christian.

GCU won 109-53 in its season opener against Arizona Christian.

"When you know there's a lot of support and people are really trying to get other people to come, that's making us even more excited to know we'll have a lot of backup to hype us up," Palma said. "The amount of energy needed to win the game is huge, so that's going to contribute to what we need. We always go to the boys' games, and it's always cool so it'll be cool for us to experience that environment."

GCU is carving its brand with relentless defensive pressure that put it in the national top three for steals in each of the past two seasons. Despite working in 10 newcomers, the Lopes are swiping a nation-high 18.8 steals per game this season and rank second nationally for opponent turnovers forced at 28.2. That turnovers on the court and in a more skilled roster have led to a more efficient offense that is shooting 48.5% from the field.

But ASU easily will be its toughest opponent of the season and is one of the nation's best ball-care teams, making only 12.3 turnovers per game – more than half of what a GCU opponent has made this season.

The Lopes will need to approach their defensive pressure more judiciously against a quick, skilled backcourt under Sun Devils first-year coach Natasha Adair, who came from Delaware to replace ASU Hall of Famer Charli Turner Thorne.

"Their two guards, Jaddan Simmons and Tyi Skinner, are very capable to run tempo and are very good basketball players," Miller said of the Sun Devil duo averaging 34.4 points per game combined. "We don't want to let them loose. We want to play a little more savvy in terms of how much we want to get up and pressure and when."

ASU, which suffered its first loss Saturday to No. 7 Notre Dame in the Bahamas, thrives off penetrating the paint and getting to the free throw line. The Sun Devils do not shoot well from the perimeter (23.1% on 3-pointers) but are physical offensively to average 16.2 free throws made per game.

They could use the Lopes' aggression against them in a tightly officiated game.

"We've practiced a lot of hands-free guarding this week," Miller said. "We don't want to be handcuffed by foul trouble, so we have to be really smart in that area. I still want to play aggressive and physical."

GCU won 109-53 in its season opener against Arizona Christian.

GCU has more in-state players than ASU, whose only in-state recruit, freshman key reserve Trayanna Crisp, went to the same high school as Phillips.

"In the home territory for me and Syd, we want to show out," Phillips said. "It's fun. It's going to be a good game and good competition. Our energy's going to be up."

ASU has not played a home game since Nov. 11, so the proximity could attract its following to add to Wednesday night's ambiance. The first 1,000 fans are being treated to a State Forty Eight GCU shirt in a game being billed as "Battle for State Forty Eight" at GCU Arena.

"It's measuring stick time," Miller said.