Women's Basketball Preview: Utah Valley and Arizona State

Game Notes

POCATELLO, Idaho- The Idaho State women's basketball team travels to Orem, Utah to face Utah Valley on Tuesday, Dec. 3, at 6 p.m. (MST) and Tempe, Ariz. to face Arizona State on Sunday, Dec. 8, at 2 p.m. (MST).

The games will feature live stats, video, and audio brought to you by Mark Liptak and KISU 91.1. Pregame radio shows will begin approximately 20 minutes before game time.

UVU Live Stats | UVU Video | UVU Audio

ASU Video | ASU Audio

Scouting Utah Valley
Utah Valley finished the 2018-19 season with a 14-16 overall record including a 8-8 record in the Western Athletic Conference. The Wolverines have started their 2019-20 season with a 1-5 record. The team is led by first-year Head Coach Dan Nielson who was the Wolverines' assistant coach from 2009-13.

UVU is a young team with eight underclassmen, two juniors, and three seniors. Their roster includes four international players and four transfers. Maria Carvalho, Eve Braslis, Alexis Cortez, Jordan Holland, Josie Williams have started all six games this season.

Carvalho leads the team in assists with 20 on the season and is second in steals with eight. Braslis, a left-handed forward, is the team's leading scorer with 68 points for 11.3 points per game. She is 27-61 (.443) from the field and 3-10 (.300) from three. Cortez transferred from East Carolina and is averaging 10.2 points per game, shooting 24-56 (.429) from the field and 6-17 (.353) from the three-point range. She also averages three assists and five boards per game and leads the team in steals with nine and blocked shots with seven. 

Holland was a WAC first-team pre-season All-Conference selection and is the team's second leading scorer, averaging 11.2 points per game and leads the team with 38 boards (6.3 per game). Williams is UVU's largest player standing at 6'5. She has totaled 63 points this season, shooting a team-high 23-35 (.657) from the field. She also has 34 boards, 13 coming from the offensive side.

Overall, the team is shooting .385 from the field, .239 from three, and .696 from the free-throw line while producing 38.3 boards per game.

The two team's last matched up on Dec. 6, 2018, in Pocatello. ISU won, 80-68, shooting a school record 66 percent from the field (33-50). 

ISU leads the all-time series, 10-5. ISU is 7-3 in the last ten meetings and 5-0 in last five. Head Coach Seton Sobolewski is 7-3 in his career vs. Utah Valley. Four of the 10 meetings under Sobolewski have been decided by five points or less.

All-Time Series Results
vs. Utah Valley
Overall: 10-5, Home: 7-1, Away: 3-4
01/08/04             A            W           65-49    
01/04/05             H            W           86-46    
01/05/06             A             L            74-83    
12/02/06             H             L            82-89(OT)           
01/06/07             A             W           85-74    
12/13/08             A             L             65-76    
12/04/10             H            W            68-56    
11/19/11              A            L             68-59    
12/08/12             H            W            69-67    
12/20/13             A             L            56-59    
12/13/14             H            W           68-67    
12/29/15             A            W           56-47    
12/20/16             H            W           61-56    
12/16/17             A            W           70-58    
12/6/18               H            W           80-68

Scouting Arizona State
Arizona State finished the 2018-19 season with a 22-11 overall record including a 10-7 record in the Pac-12, leading the program to a school record sixth-consecutive NCAA appearance and 20-win season. The Sun Devils would advance to the Sweet 16. The program has started its 2019-20 season with a 4-2 record led by 23-year Head Coach Charli Turner Thorne, the winningest coach in ASU women's basketball history and No. 2 in the Pac-12 in most career wins (444). ASU will host BYU on Dec. 6 before hosting Idaho State on Dec. 8.

ASU's roster includes five seniors, one junior, and seven underclassmen with five players over 6'0.  Jayde Van Hyfte and Reili Richardson have started all six games this season with Taya Hanson starting five. Ja'Tavia Tapley and Robbi Ryan have each started four. Kiara Russell and Jamie Ruden have also seen game-starts this season.  

Van Hyfte is shooting 16-32 (.500) from the field and leads the team with 44 boards (7.3 per game), 25 coming from the offensive side. Richardson leads the team with 16 assists while shooting 14-46 (.304) from the field. She sits third in ASU's all-time career assists with 456. Hanson is 11-38 (.289) from the three and has a .750 average from the free-throw line.

Tapley transferred from USC in 2019 and is the team's leading scorer with 84 points, 27 more points than the team's second leading scorer. She is 29-53 (.547) from the field and 26-32 (.813) from the free-throw line. She is also second in rebounds with 40 and leads with 11 steals and three blocks.

Overall, the team is shooting .390 from the field, .269 from three, and .670 from the free-throw line while producing 42.2 boards per game.

The two team's last matched up on Dec. 30, 2012, in Tempe. ASU won, 60-53, with Idaho State going on a 20-7 run in the second half to tighten the score. The Bengals shot 33 percent from the field and 40 percent from beyond the three-point arc.

ASU leads the all-time series, 3-0, with all three games played in Tempe. Idaho State has cut the score each time the two teams have played.

All-Time Series Results
vs. Arizona State
Overall: 0-3, Away: 0-3            
12/09/82    A    L    71-98    
12/04/09    A    L    56-65    
12/30/12    A    L    60-53