After a win against rival Arizona last Friday, the ASU women's basketball team could very well have its place in the Pac-10 Conference decided this weekend.
The Sun Devils (16-7, 10-2 Pac-10) will travel to the Bay Area to play No. 9 California on Thursday and No. 6 Stanford on Saturday, with all three teams within a game of each other for first place in the conference.
ASU was in a similar place just a couple of weeks ago. After a victory against UA on Jan. 12, the Sun Devils were riding a five-game winning streak going into a pair of games against the Golden Bears (21-3, 12-1 Pac-10) and Cardinal (22-3, 11-2 Pac-10).
The Sun Devils then dropped both of those games at home, falling from a first-place tie to third place in the conference.
Now on another five-game win streak, ASU has revenge on its mind and will try to get those two games back on the road this weekend.
"This is a huge weekend for us," junior forward Lauren Lacey said. "We're really excited. Obviously, they gave us two losses at home, and that has stuck with us."
The Sun Devils have been pretty comfortable away from Wells Fargo Arena as they are the only Pac-10 team without a conference loss on the road.
"We take adversity very well," Lacey said. "We've actually probably been better on the road than we've been at home. I guess we play better out of our comfort zone and when we have the crowd against us."
However, Cal and Stanford are both undefeated at home and Stanford's Maples Pavilion is regarded as one of the toughest places to play in the nation.
This ASU squad is relatively inexperienced with playing at Maples Pavilion, and ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said she's interested to see how her team responds.
"Sometimes [inexperience playing at Stanford] can be a great thing because when you keep bringing the same players, if they haven't gotten it done, you can have that little bit of doubt in the back of your mind," she said. "I don't think we have that with this group because they don't have enough experience playing at Maples."
Saturday's showdown with Stanford will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net, and will also be the final home game for Stanford All-American senior guard Candice Wiggins.
ASU junior guard Briann January will match up with Wiggins for much of Saturday's game.
"It's always a blast playing against her," January said. "We just go head-to-head and that's what makes it fun, and I'm excited to take it up on Saturday."
Because of injuries, struggles with outside shooting and different personnel, the Sun Devils have had to adjust their style of play this season.
ASU under Turner Thorne has traditionally been a guard-heavy team that pushes the ball and shoots from the perimeter on offense, and plays tough man-to-man defense.
This year, the Sun Devils have tried to establish an inside game in the post and have been playing zone defense.
Turner Thorne said she was proud of the way her team has responded to the challenges faced early in the season.
"They've done a really good job of just staying with things and not falling into 'coulda, woulda, shoulda' and things like that," she said. "We've been hard on this group because we do believe in them, and we are pushing them to not make excuses."
Because of the new looks on both sides of the ball, other teams have had to make their own adjustments in how they prepare for the Sun Devils.
"I definitely think that people aren't sure right now how we're going to play them because we've played enough teams differently this year than we have in the past," Turner Thorne said.
"I think that's a good thing they have to prepare for a little bit more."
Reach the reporter at: gina.mizell@asu.edu.
