The seniors on the ASU women’s basketball team have already experienced its fair share of “first career” losses to Pac-10 foes this year.

First, the Sun Devils suffered a 62-56 defeat at the hands of Washington on Jan. 7. Then ASU fell at home to Washington State 66-62 on Feb. 6. And less than a week ago, ASU dropped an 82-81 decision at Oregon.

But there’s one conference opponent that those seniors especially don’t want to break their career-undefeated streak against — the rivals from down South.

ASU will go for its 10th straight win over UA this Saturday afternoon when the two teams clash at Wells Fargo Arena.

“This game means a lot to me,” ASU senior guard Danielle Orsillo said. “It’s very important for us to just finish strong, and that starts with getting it done this weekend and making our fans proud.”

But beyond the bragging rights that come with a rivalry win, Saturday’s contest is crucial if ASU wants to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Sun Devils (15-9, 7-6 Pac-10) likely need four or five more wins with five regular-season games to play (plus the Pac-10 Tournament) in order to put themselves in a good position to earn their sixth straight ticket to the Big Dance.

“We still control our destiny to a great degree,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “We can still have a great finish, we can still compete for a Pac-10 Championship at the tournament and we can still go to the NCAAs. I do believe in this team.”

ASU currently sits fifth in the Pac-10, just one game ahead of UA (12-11, 6-7), after both teams lost to Oregon but beat Oregon State on the road last week.

The last time these two squads faced each other less than a month ago, the Sun Devils had to hold on in the final three minutes after letting an 11-point second-half lead slip away to beat the Wildcats 73-67 at McKale Center in Tucson.

The key to shutting down the UA offense, which ranks third in the conference (68.8 points per game) is stopping junior forward Ify Ibekwe and freshman guard Davellyn Whyte, who both rank in the top 10 in the Pac-10 in scoring.

Easier said than done.

The inside-outside duo combined for 47 of the Wildcats’ 67 total points the last time they faced ASU.

“Deny Ify and Whyte the ball,” ASU junior forward Becca Tobin said of ASU’s game plan against UA. “[We’ve] just got to play team defense. We’ve got to help each other and not let them play one-on-one like they did last time.”

Ibekwe continues to be one of the nation’s steadiest and underrated performers, as she is the only player in the Pac-10 averaging a double-double. She ranks fourth in the nation in rebounding (11.4 per game) while also scoring 14.4 points per game.

“She’s just really versatile,” Tobin said of Ibekwe. “She can make layups that are tough, [and] she hits tough shots. The best way to play her is to not let her touch the ball.”

ASU will counter in the post with Tobin, who scored a career-high 20 points against UO, and senior Kayli Murphy, with sophomore Kali Bennett and redshirt freshman Janae Fulcher also logging steady minutes.

Whyte has also quickly turned into one of the conference’s most explosive offensive threats, as she ranks fifth in the Pac-10 in scoring (16.8 points per game) while also making 37.5 percent of her shots from 3-point range.

“She’s one of the top players, definitely,” Orsillo said. “She’ll just take it right at you on the offensive end [and] strips the ball on defense. I really respect her game..”

The Sun Devils got a huge lift on the perimeter last week from Orsillo, who set a new career-high in scoring in two consecutive games after she notched 26 points against OSU and 29 against UO.

“Danielle really just played to her strengths more,” Turner Thorne said. “When she does that, she’s hard to stop.”

ASU junior guard Tenaya Watson, who missed ASU’s last two games with a foot injury, remains questionable to play Saturday. Freshman Sabrina McKinney would make her third straight start at point guard if Watson is unable to play, and Orsillo and sophomore Alex Earl would also spend time at the position.

Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu