No player currently on the ASU women’s basketball team has ever lost to UA.

The Sun Devils don’t plan on breaking that trend this weekend.

Currently riding a three-game winning streak, ASU (11-6, 3-3 Pac-10) will try to capture its ninth straight victory over its in-state rival when it travels to Tucson to face the Wildcats (9-7, 3-3 Pac-10) on Sunday afternoon at the McKale Center.

“Everyone keeps track of who beat each other the most at the end of the year,” senior guard Danielle Orsillo said. “We know how many times our sports teams beat them, and they know how many times they beat us, so it’s a big game.”

For veterans like fifth-year senior Danielle Orsillo, beating UA means inching one step closer to leaving Sun Devil nation with a perfect record against the Wildcats.

But for the seven new players in the Sun Devils’ rotation, Sunday will be the first real taste of the bitterness between two schools and fan bases that simply don’t like each other.

“I’ve never had a rival, so I don’t know what it feels like, but I’m ready” said junior guard Tenaya Watson, who is in her first year with the Sun Devils after transferring from Central Arizona College. “I’m just going to take it like a regular game. [The veteran players] said we’ve got to win. Whatever we’ve got to do, we’ve just got to win.”

ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said she spoke to her team about the meaning of the rivalry on Tuesday, but that the rest of the week centered around the game itself.

“It is for bragging rights and pride,” Turner Thorne said. “For a lot of ASU alum, they care more about this game, so you do need to know that there is tradition behind this game. The biggest thing for me is their preparation, knowing that going down there how hostile it’s going to be [and] what a big crowd they’re going to have. We just need to be focused on ourselves and what we need to do.”

UA comes into the contest having won three of its last four games, including a 119-112 victory over Oregon on Saturday that set the Pac-10 record for the highest-scoring game in conference history.

But the Sun Devils hang their hats on the defensive end, and that task will be to slow down a suddenly high-powered Wildcat offense.

“A big key for UA is they like to get out and run,” Orsillo said. “We’ve got to get back and stop the point guard and make sure everyone’s matched up.”

Like in years past, the Wildcat offense starts with junior forward Ify Ibekwe, who is one of the most athletic post players in the nation. She especially makes an impact on the glass, as she ranks third in the nation in rebounding (11.9 per game) in addition to her 13.7 points per game.

“Ify is definitely one of the top scorers,” Turner Thorne said. “You’re going to play great defense against her, and she’s still going to score at times.”

But UA has also gotten a major boost from two newcomers in freshman guard Davellyn Whyte and junior forward Soana Lucet.

Whyte is the reigning Pac-10 Player of the Week after averaging 26.5 points per game in the Wildcats’ pair of victories over Oregon State and UO, including a school-record 39 points against the Ducks. She is averaging 17.7 points per game and is shooting 41 percent from 3-point range, which both rank second in the conference.

“She’s brought great scoring, and she’s a good defensive player, too,” Turner Thorne said. “You’ve got to get out on her, and then she can take it off the dribble — she’s a good creator. I don’t think they had somebody quite as dynamic as her last year.”

Lucet has provided the Wildcats another inside option to complement Ibekwe, as she has averaged 13.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per contest in her first season in Tucson.

ASU will counter with a post rotation that will receive a lift this weekend when sophomore center Kali Bennett returns from a one-game suspension by the Pac-10 for throwing a punch during the Sun Devils’ win over UO.

Junior forward Becca Tobin is averaging 10.6 points and 6.5 rebounds for
ASU.

Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu