Only two ASU players — starting guards Deja Mann and Adrianne Thomas — have NCAA experience, from a 63-45 first-round loss to Temple in 2011. Senior post Joy Burke also was on that team but didn't play in the subregional in Salt Lake City.
So this is a new beginning for ASU, particularly because its 13-year postseason streak ended last season with a 13-18 thud.
"I'm really proud of this team," Turner Thorne said. "And as painful as it was (losing late in the season), it might actually help us in terms of hunger and what we didn't finish (now and in the off-season)."
ASU will have had two full weeks off when it hits the court against Vanderbilt (18-12), a break that Turner Thorne has helped players and the offense to get healthy. The Sun Devils are not as good defensively as some of their better teams — such as those that made the Elite Eight in 2007 and 2009 — and need to score close in the 70-point range to beat good opponents. But they've been at 63 or lower in eight of the past nine games, the exception being against national scoring leader Oregon.
"Our execution has gotten better," Mann said. "We need to get back to transitioning, especially as we play better defensive teams. The tournament you have to score points to win. I think we're on the right track."
Vanderbilt has wins over Tennessee, Texas A&M, LSU, Dayton and Georgia but struggled late in the season, losing nine of its last 11 games. Guards Christina Foggie (19.1 ppg) and Jasmine Lister (13.9) are the top scorers for coach Melanie Balcomb. The Commodores beat ASU 61-35 in a second-round NCAA game in Nashville in 2002.
ASU is one of five Pac-12 teams in the 64-team NCAA field, the most since 2006. Stanford is a No. 2 seed, California No. 7 and USC and Oregon State, like ASU, No. 9. Four other Pac-12 teams — Washington State, Washington, Colorado and Oregon — are in the 64-team WNIT.
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