Generally, a matchup between a team winless in Pac-10 play and another that has won four of six conference games wouldn’t garner too much attention.

But when those two teams are in-state rivals, it’s a different story.

When the ASU women’s basketball team hosts UA on Saturday afternoon, all records can be thrown out the window.

“We’re just expecting [UA] to come after us, because it is a big game,” ASU junior guard Danielle Orsillo said. “It means a lot to our alumni, [and] it means a lot to us.”

The Sun Devils (12-6, 4-2 Pac-10) come into Saturday’s contest on a four-game winning streak and have not lost to UA since 2005.

ASU has been averaging 73.3 points per game during the recent streak, and coach Charli Turner Thorne said her team is playing some of its best offense of the season.

“From a coaching standpoint, offensively, I feel like we’re in a better place than maybe we’ve ever been as a program in terms of our execution,” she said. “They’re playing to their strengths very well right now.”

On the opposite end of the spectrum sit the Wildcats (7-10, 0-6 Pac-10), who have not won a game so far in 2009. UA’s last win came on Dec. 29 at Boise State.

But anything can happen in a rivalry game — and almost did last season in Tempe.

ASU went into its home showdown with the Wildcats last February on a four-game winning streak and tied for second in the Pac-10 standings. UA sat in ninth place in the Pac-10 with a 3-8 conference record. But The Sun Devils needed to sink free throws down the stretch in order to escape with a 67-64 win.

“We’re ready for [UA] to bring it all,” Turner Thorne said. “We’ve graduated to a team that knows how to have that energy and that focus for 40 minutes. We’ve been doing as good a job as any team I’ve ever coached the last few weeks, and we intend to do it on Saturday.”

UA coach Niya Butts is in her first season at the helm after taking over a program that had sharply declined in recent years under previous coach Joan Bonvicini. The Wildcats were the Pac-10 co-champions in 2004, but then compiled a record of 49-75 over the next four seasons and made the NCAA Tournament just once.

Things nearly hit rock bottom last season, when injuries, suspensions and other off-the-court problems left UA with a roster that was sometimes virtually nonexistent. The depleted squad was most apparent when the Wildcats were forced to play the end of a loss at Oregon State with just two players on the floor because certain players were unavailable and others had fouled out of the game.

Those issues combined with a 10-20 record led to the dismissal of Bonvicini, which left Butts to start the rebuilding process with an inexperienced roster that contains just five upperclassmen.

The core of the Wildcats lies in the paint, where sophomore forward Ify Ibekwe has had a breakout season. She is the Pac-10’s second-leading scorer (15.8 points per game) and leading rebounder (12.3 per game), and the only player in the conference averaging a double-double.

“She is having an unbelievable season,” Turner Thorne said of Ibekwe.

Also on the inside is senior Amina Njonkou, who ranks fifth in the conference in rebounding (7.8 per game) and also averages 9.7 points per game.

“She’s a beast,” Turner Thorne said. “She’s just aggressive and a great rebounder and just a really tough [player to] guard because she uses her body so well and does a great job around the basket.”

ASU’s post rotation is much deeper, so Ibekwe and Njonkou will get a heavy dose of fresh bodies countering them on the block all afternoon.

“It’s obviously going to be a challenge, and a welcome challenge, for our post players to really do a great job on their [post players],” Turner Thorne said. “It’s a great strength of our team, and all five of our posts bring different things and are fired up and playing well right now.”

But despite good production from its inside duo, UA has had numerous problems putting the ball in the basket as a team this season. The Wildcats rank dead last in the Pac-10 in scoring offense (56.9 points per game) and notched just 38 points in their loss to UCLA last weekend.

It won’t get any easier against the Sun Devils, who have given up an average of 51 points in their last four games while forcing 21.5 turnovers.

UA’s three starting guards are all new faces, with freshman Reiko Thomas averaging 11.7 points per game. However, she missed the Wildcats’ loss to UCLA last week with a sprained ankle.

On the flip side, ASU’s tandem on the perimeter is full of veterans: senior Briann January and juniors Dymond Simon and Orsillo. The trio virtually carried the team in its win against USC last week, and each ranks in the top seven in the Pac-10 in assist-to-turnover ratio during conference play.

“They are clicking very well,” Turner Thorne said. “Since we’ve gotten into Pac-10 [play], we’ve kind of simplified some things offensively … and [those three have] really done a great job with it.”

Reach the reporter at gina.mizell@asu.edu.