Sun Devil WBB hosts UMass on Friday night as part of inaugural Briann January Classic

THE GAME:  Briann January Classic – Sun Devil WBB (6-1) vs. UMass (7-1)
WHEN: Friday at 6 p.m. MST
WHERE: Desert Financial Arena • Tempe, Ariz.
LIVE STREAM: Click here  
RADIO: KDUS AM 1060
LIVE STATS: Click here
PURCHASE TICKETS: Click here

UP NEXT
For the first time in 21 days, the Sun Devil women's basketball team will play in the familiar surroundings of Desert Financial Arena when it hosts the inaugural Briann January Classic. Named after 2022 Sun Devil Hall of Fame inductee Briann January, the event will feature three games in three days, starting when the Sun Devils host UMass on Friday at 6 pm. The following day, UMass will face Missouri at 3 pm. The event will conclude on Sunday when the Sun Devils take on Missouri at 12:30 p.m. 
 
Currently 6-1, under first-year head coach Natasha Adair, the Sun Devils are off to their best start since the 2014-15 season. Last week, this year's Sun squad became the first Sun Devil team to start 5-0 since 2002-03. Despite a great effort, they came up short in their attempt to make it six wins in six games after falling to No. 7 Notre Dame, 85-65, at the Goombay Splash in Bimini, Bahamas. The Sun Devils led the Irish by three points at the half and were tied with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter before Notre Dame used a 12-2 run to gain control of the game on its way to the win. The 2014-15 squad that was the fastest in program history to reach 20 wins (22 games), started 4-0 before dropping its fifth and 20th games of the season on its way to the achievement.
 
Given the limited time amount of time it had for rest and preparation, it could be argued ASU's most recent assignment, a contest at cross-town foe Grand Canyon, was its toughest to date. After being on the road for nine of 10 days, the Sun Devils played in front of a GCU women's basketball record crowd of 6,019, in a game that was dubbed by the home team as the "Battle for State Forty Eight." And a battle it was. Down by as many as 11 in the fourth quarter, and playing without one of its top performers, Treasure Hunt, the Sun Devils rattled off a pair of stretches in which they outscored the Lopes 15-0 and 10-2. In the end, the Sun Devils had amassed a school record for most points in quarter (35) on their way to an 80-72 win. ASU was led by junior guard Tyi Skinner, who finished with a career-high 29 points, her fourth game of 20-plus points this season, and was near-perfect from the free-throw line, hitting 15 of 17 attempts. 
 
"I'll tell you, going into the fourth [quarter], we were down by 10 and I looked at the team and said, 'We've been here before,'" Adair said. "At that moment, they were locked in. [At] no point did I look at my players, and think they didn't look confident, like we weren't going to pull out this victory." 
 
Sunday's game vs. Missouri will conclude a period in which ASU will have played six games in 15 days. The Sun Devils will then play two games over the next 25 days – at Stephen F. Austin (Dec. 11) and vs. Prairie View A&M (Dec. 17). The treadmill will speed back up in a hurry for ASU as it will open Pac-12 play with three road games in five days: at Arizona (Dec. 29), at Stanford (Dec. 31), at Cal (Jan. 2).
 
HOW WE GOT HERE
The Sun Devils started out the Natasha Adair era with a 69-68 win vs. Northern Arizona on Nov. 7. Junior guard Jaddan Simmons tied her career high with 22 points while junior Skinner added 12 points. In her debut for the Sun Devils, Meg Newman, who redshirted last season due to injury, nearly had a near double-double with nine points and 11 rebounds. ASU held the Lumberjacks to zero points in the final three minutes of play and Simmons hit the game-tying and go-ahead free throws to get the hard-earned win.
 
ASU's win over Grambling State on Nov. 11 came in much less dramatic fashion as it led by 16 in the middle of the third quarter. After the Lady Tigers got back within nine points less than two minutes into the final frame, Skinner personally made sure ASU did not have a second-consecutive, one-possession game as she scored 11 of her game-high 16 points – and 11 of ASU's 16 points as a team – in the final quarter. Skinner could not miss as she swished all four of her field goals, including a pair of makes from downtown and hit the only free throw she attempted.
 
ASU started its five-game road swing with a 79-64 win at 2022 Big Sky Tournament champion/2022 NCAA Tournament participant Montana State (Nov. 15). ASU scored the first 20 points and led by as many as 27. Skinner (game-high 24 points on 9-of-18 shooting) came within a point of matching her career high in scoring while accounting for a career-best four steals. Hunt scored a career-high 19 points while leading the team with seven rebounds. 
 
On Nov. 20, ASU had to go to overtime to remain unbeaten in a hard-fought 83-77 win at New Mexico. Skinner posted her second straight 24-point outing, while Kayla Mokwuah (16 points, 13 rebounds), Simmons (16 points) and Hunt (15 points, career-high 15 rebounds) also scored in double figures for the Sun Devils, who had to battle back from a five-point deficit in the final minutes to force overtime.
 
On Nov. 25, Skinner posted her third consecutive 24-point game, scoring 14 of ASU's 22 fourth-quarter points to help the Sun Devils outlast American, 70-61 at the Goombay Splash (played in Bimini, Bahamas) to improve ASU's record to 5-0 for the first time since 2002-03.  
 
The following day, ASU came out on the short end for the first time this season, but not before showing it could play with one of the nation's best teams in an 85-65 setback to seventh-ranked Notre Dame. Skinner (15 points), Simmons (14 points) and Trayanna Crisp (11 points) combined for 40 of ASU's points. Skinner, who was named to the Goombay Division All-Tournament Team of the 2022 Goombay Splash, also paced ASU with a game-high three steals. Meg Newman was perfect from the floor (3-3 FGs) and grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
 
NOTES ON THE OPPOSITION
UMass was the preseason favorite to win the Atlantic 10 after it claimed its first Atlantic 10 Championship Title last season to earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998. This will be the first meeting between ASU and UMass.