Sun Devil WBB Hosts Bakersfield on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

WHAT: Sun Devil Women’s Basketball (1-0) vs. Bakersfield (2-0)

WHEN: Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. MT

WHERE: Wells Fargo Arena, Tempe (click here to purchase tickets)

RADIO: NBC Sports Radio 1060 (pre-game coverage begins at 6 pm)

LIVE STREAM: http://pac-12.com/videos/arizona-state-university

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Sun Devil women’s basketball team plays the second of consecutive home games to start the season when it takes on Bakersfield on Wednesday (6:30 p.m. MT) at Wells Fargo Arena.

The Sun Devils are coming off a season-opening 81-67 win over Middle Tennessee on Friday. Sophomore forward Sophie Brunner scored a career-high 20 points to go along with 12 rebounds to lead ASU in the win. Also scoring in double figures for the Sun Devils (1-0) were junior guard Elisha Davis and R-Jr. Katie Hempen, who had 14 points each.

Although she was pleased with her team’s performance, Sun Devil head coach Charli Turner Thorne acknowledged there is always room for improvement.

“I was really excited for the win over a top program, but then you go home and break down the film and think, ‘we could have done things better,’ but that is just a coach being able to rewind three times and look at every little thing,” Turner Thorne said. “I think the thing that we have to keep doing early in the preseason is bringing great energy and having each other’s backs because obviously our goal is to have fewer breakdowns. But this early we just have to be prepared, know our opponents and evaluate and adjust."

Bakersfield (2-0) has won its first two games, defeating Air Force by 40 points in its opener (96-56) and most recently winning at Arizona (76-72) on Monday night. The Roadrunners were picked by both the coaches and the media to win the 2014-15 WAC conference title. It will be the second time in as many games that the Sun Devils will be facing a team that was the preseason favorite to win the conference title.

“They play fast and have a great transition game. They deny and pressure like we do so they create a lot of offense off their defense,” Turner Thorne said of Bakersfield. “They are very athletic on the boards and are a veteran team and so they know each other and know what they want to do. They have a lot of offensive weapons and can score from all five spots on the floor like teams in our conference. There is not any one player you can key one.”

Twelve of Brunner’s 20 points in Friday’s win came at the foul line where she missed only two of 14 attempts. Last season Brunner made 77 percent of her foul shots in games in which she had four or more attempts at the line. While Turner Thorne feels that Brunner is going to continue to draw more attention, she also feels that Brunner will continue to be effective be it in a direct (scoring on her own) or an indirect (setting up offense for others) way.

“I think she is going to get keyed on more and more and the good thing is that she is a great passer and is adept at passing out of double teams,” Turner Thorne said.

Wednesday’s meeting will be the first between the Sun Devils and the Roadrunners. For the Sun Devils to come away with a win on Wednesday, Turner Thorne was very succinct in stating what her team needs to do.

“Take care of the ball, take away their transition and control the boards,” Turner Thorne said.

After Wednesday’s game, the Sun Devils will play their next four games on the road, beginning on Tuesday when they take on Miami. The Sun Devils will then remain in Florida for next week’s Gulf Coast Showcase in which they will play three games in three days (Nov. 28-30).