This season the ASU women's basketball team probably had more bumps and bruises than it bargained for, especially before the calendar turned to 2008.
And despite a frontcourt with no starting experience, a tough non-conference schedule, some inconsistent play and a slew of early-season injuries, the Sun Devils (21-10, 14-4 Pac-10) still find themselves back in the NCAA Tournament for a fourth consecutive year.
In the beginning...
After advancing to the Elite Eight last year, ASU came into the 2007-08 season ranked No. 12 nationally in both major preseason polls, and was expected to challenge No. 7 Stanford and No. 13 California for the Pac-10 title.
The Sun Devils had the task of replacing two First Team All-Pac-10 post players in Emily Westerberg and Aubree Johnson but boasted a very experienced backcourt with seniors Jill Noe and Reagan Pariseau, as well as junior Briann January.
But the Sun Devils dropped their regular-season opener at then-No. 8 North Carolina in the State Farm Tip-Off Classic and also lost non-conference games to Oklahoma, Auburn, Texas Tech and Texas to head into Pac-10 play.
With a 6-5 record, it was disappointing start by ASU's own standards.
It didn't look pretty when...
The Sun Devils were bitten hard by the injury bug in the early part of the season, which factored into their rocky non-conference start.
ASU was shorthanded out of the gate when junior center Sybil Dosty missed all of preseason practice because of an injured knee and junior guard Kate Engelbrecht missed the team's first two games because of a broken hand.
Pariseau suffered an ankle injury in the Sun Devils' win against Gonzaga on Nov. 30, which forced her to miss the next two games against Auburn and UC-Davis.
Sophomore guard Dymond Simon continued to slowly recover from the torn anterior cruciate ligament she sustained in January 2007. She re-aggravated that knee in the Sun Devils' loss at Texas Tech on Dec. 13, and as a result, missed the next two games against Fresno State and Texas.
The Sun Devils suffered their biggest blow when junior guard Danielle Orsillo was officially lost for the season on Dec. 26 because of a bone bruise in her knee. The sharpshooter's only regular-season action came in the Sun Devils' season opener at North Carolina, where she scored a career-high 21 points.
It wouldn't have been the same without...
Junior transfers Lauren Lacey and Sybil Dosty.
In their first season of action for the Sun Devils, both members of the inside duo were placed in the starting lineup for the majority of the year and had an impact in many facets of the game.
Lacey led the team in scoring (12.5 points per game), was second in rebounding (5.8 per game) and shot nearly 47 percent from behind the 3-point line.
Dosty led the Sun Devils in rebounds (6.5 per game) and blocked shots (38) while also averaging eight points per game.
Lacey was named Second Team All-Pac-10 for her performance this season, while Dosty earned Pac-10 Defensive Honorable Mention honors.
A defining moment was...
After being swept on the road by then-No. 9 California and then-No. 6 Stanford in mid-February, the Sun Devils bounced back against their next two opponents. ASU blew out Washington State on Feb. 21 and Washington on Feb. 24 in its final two home games.
ASU set a Pac-10 defensive record for fewest points allowed when it held WSU to just 30 points.
Against UW, Lacey had a career-high 25 points and 11 rebounds. The Sun Devils also had strong performances from seniors Noe (four points, nine assists) and Pariseau (nine points, three assists) against the Huskies in their final game at Wells Fargo Arena.
The Sun Devils then swept UCLA and USC on the road in their final regular-season conference games to head into the Pac-10 Tournament on a four-game winning streak.
Slipped on the dancing shoes when...
The Sun Devils really took care of business in conference play.
ASU went 14-0 against Pac-10 opponents not named Stanford or Cal. The Sun Devils finished third respectively behind the Bay Area schools with a 14-4 record.
ASU is the No. 6 seed in the Oklahoma City Regional and will open the NCAA Tournament play on Sunday against No. 11-seed Temple.
Reach the reporter at: gina.mizell@asu.edu.
