(Photo courtesy Arizona Republic.)

Last week (1-1, 23-7 overall, 15-3 Pac-10): ASU 63, Cal 41; Stanford 77, ASU 68.

What We Learned: ASU lost its chance to clinch a tie for the Pac-10 regular-season title with its loss to Stanford on Saturday, a defeat that snapped the Sun Devils’ team-record 15-game win streak.

But the outcome of the game became secondary as soon as point guard Dymond Simon (pictured above) injured her left knee in the first half. Head coach Charli Turner Thorne said that the team’s leading scorer tore her anterior cruciate ligament, which would be the second such injury Simon has sustained in the past two years. Quoth Turner Thorne: “We’re all just devastated. We’re just completely devastated.”

Star of the Week: Danielle Orsillo is one of several Sun Devils who will have to increase her offensive production to make up for the loss of Simon, and the guard had two good games over the weekend. In the Sun Devils’ pounding of No. 9 Cal last Thursday, Orsillo tallied 13 points, three rebounds and two assists, and against the second-ranked Cardinal, she had 12 points and two assists.

What’s Next: The Sun Devils had to settle for the third seed in this week’s Pac-10 Tournament in Los Angeles and will take on USC, the sixth seed, on Friday. The tournament starts Thursday and runs through Sunday.

ASU handled the Ladies of Troy in the teams’ previous meetings this season, but the Sun Devils will have to adapt quickly to life without Simon.

Quoth Turner Thorne: “We have a very talented team and we have a lot of depth. This is why you have depth and this is why I play a lot of people. If you do lose somebody, you’re ready for that. I think we might have to redefine ourselves a little offensively because Dymond was our leading scorer and everything went through her. She created a ton for us on offense.”

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(Photo of Briann January, Kate Engelbrecht, Kirsten Thompson, Lauren Lacey, Sybil Dosty and Nia Fanaika courtesy thesundevils.com)

Most of the seniors on the ASU women’s basketball team arrived on campus in 2005. They did so with such fanfare that Charli Turner Thorne dubbed them The Incredibles and said they might be “the most talented class in the country.”

The star of the group was and remains Briann January, who memorably shared the cover of Sports Illustrated with James Harden. She was joined by Kate Engelbrecht, Kirsten Thompson, Danielle Orsillo and walk-on Nia Fanaika.

The senior group has evolved since then, as Sybil Dosty and Lauren Lacey joined them after transferring from Tennessee and Minnesota, respectively.

And their accomplishments have nearly equaled the hype.

• 100 wins and 29 losses in four seasons
• 2007 Elite Eight appearance; the best finish in school history
• School record 14-game winning streak in 2008
• And soon, four straight NCAA Tournament appearances

The missing piece is a Pac-10 championship. And that goal, too, is within reach.

The Sun Devils control their own destiny as they head to the Bay Area this weekend to face conference-leading Stanford and Cal—both of which are ranked in the top 10 nationally. (You can watch the Stanford game at 1:30 p.m. Saturday on Fox Sports Arizona.)

ASU will likely have to sweep the weekend to claim the conference crown.

A tall order, no doubt. But ASU lost to Stanford and Cal by a combined four points in Tempe before beginning their amazing winning streak.

Quoth Turner Thorne in the Arizona Republic: “This is what we prepared for. This is why we played that incredibly brutal schedule in the preseason and lost a couple more games than a lot of other teams. That’s why we spent the whole season not in the rankings. This is where it’s supposed to pay off. We know we can play at that level. Now we have to go do it.”

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The stretch run of the Pac-10 basketball season begins tonight—and both the Sun Devils men’s and women’s teams control their own destinies. We’ll get out of the way and let our friends at The Greg and Mark Show provide the analysis.

The men begin their trip to the Pacific Northwest with a huge tilt against conference-leading Washington tonight. The game doesn’t tip until 9 p.m. Arizona time, but by the time you wake up tomorrow ASU could lead the Pac-10 with three games to play.

In the audio clip below, the guys discuss Herb Sendek’s national coach of the year candidacy, matching up with big man Jon Brockman and Washington, and James Harden’s comment that ASU is now a basketball school.

Men’s Audio:

The women, who haven’t lost since George W. Bush was in office, host the Washington schools this weekend before capping the season with a road trip to the Bay Area. Stanford and Cal share the conference lead and hold a one-game cushion over the Sun Devils.

And in the next audio clip, the guys discuss a program record 12-game winning streak, Charli Turner Thorne‘s suffocating style of D, and the ladies’ odds of upending Cal and Stanford to steal the conference title.

Women’s Audio:

Check back tomorrow to listen to Greg and Mark’s take on the ASU baseball team’s hot start. Go Devils!

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Last week (1-0, 20-6, 12-2 Pac-10): ASU 60, UA 53

What We Learned: That the Sun Devils are continuing to win games they should. The Wildcats are not a good team. ASU is. And the Sun Devils proved it once again on Saturday by overcoming early struggles and posting a come-from-behind win.

We also learned that ASU, deservedly, re-entered the national polls at No. 25. The Sun Devils celebrated that fact by posting their 20th win of the season – a number they’ve now reached for five straight seasons – and their 12th straight victory, a school record.

ASU remains in third place in the Pac-10, one game behind co-leaders Cal (13-1) and Stanford (13-1).

Star of the Week: The Sun Devils didn’t execute very well offensively against Arizona; that’s why they found themselves in an early double-digit hole. They were able to come back in the second half thanks to stingy defense and the play of guard Dymond Simon.

The Sun Devils’ leading scorer hit just 1-of-9 shots in the first half, but scored 14 of her team-high 18 points in the second half, hitting a clutch 3-pointer and sealing the win with free throws down the stretch.

What’s Next: Before the Sun Devils conclude their regular season with back-to-back showdowns with Cal and Stanford, they will take on Washington (2-12) and Washington State (3-11) at home this weekend.

ASU beat the Huskies and Cougars handily last month in the Evergreen State, and will be favored to do so again this weekend. Coach Charli Turner Thorne probably won’t be allowing her players’ minds to drift ahead to the following weekend.

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Last week (2-0, 19-6 overall, 11-2 Pac-10): ASU 72, USC 69; ASU 69, UCLA 66

What We Learned: That the Sun Devils are closing out close games at the end, something they weren’t doing earlier in the season. ASU earned its 10th and 11th consecutive victories (a new school record) by hanging on to small leads late in the second half in its games against the Ladies of Troy and the Bruins.

During their record streak, the Sun Devils haven’t been able to make up any ground in the Pac-10 championship race as league-leading Cal has been equally as hot. But the Golden Bears suffered their first Pac-10 loss to Stanford on Saturday, leaving them tied with the Cardinal on top of the conference at 11-1, with ASU lurking just one-half game back. It’s shaping up to potentially be a tremendous three-team race down the stretch for the Pac-10 regular-season title.

Star of the Week: Briann January, an all-conference second-teamer from a year ago, hasn’t had a lot of eye-popping performances on paper this season as she’s deferred some of the scoring and play-making responsibilities to her backcourt mates. But she’s continued to be a steady presence for ASU on both ends of the floor.

Against UCLA, she broke through for 21 points, including four 3-pointers, five assists and three steals. She’s second on the team in scoring at 12.6 points per game and leads the team in assists and steals.

What’s Next: Another win, most likely, as long as the Sun Devils continue to play the way they’ve played over the last 11 games. ASU will take on UA on Saturday in a contest that will feature two teams going in opposite directions. While the Sun Devils are enjoying their record winning streak, the Wildcats are 2-10, sit in ninth place in the Pac-10 and were destroyed by ASU 75-38 last month.

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Last week (2-0, 17-6, 9-2 Pac-10): ASU 68, Oregon 56; ASU 65, Oregon State 54.

What We Learned: That head coach Charli Turner Thorne certainly has high expectations for her team, and that ASU is capable of winning ugly even when it isn’t playing its best basketball. The Sun Devils won their ninth straight game last weekend and are nearing the school record of 10 consecutive victories.

Nonetheless, Turner Thorne blasted her team’s play after ASU’s win over the Ducks, and wasn’t exactly thrilled after watching the Sun Devils slog through a lackadaisical second half against the Beavers. Quoth Turner Thorne after: “They responded well (after the Oregon game) and did what they needed to do. The fact we didn’t sustain it, that’s an issue that we can address.”

Star of the Week: Reserve post Becca Tobin is making rapid progress in her sophomore season. The 6-foot-5 Glendale Cactus product scored 11 points against Oregon, her second double-figure game in the last three, and had six rebounds plus one block and one assist. She added six points on 3-of-4 shooting and swatted three more shots against Oregon State. Coming into the weekend, she had cracked the Pac-10’s top 20 in rebounds (5.2 per game) and blocked shots (1.0).

Want more Tobin? The Arizona Republic ran a feature on the rail thin Becca Tobin and her assault on ASU’s career blocks mark last week.

What’s Next: ASU will travel to take on the Los Angeles schools this weekend. The Sun Devils had a fairly easy time against UCLA and USC at home last month, but Turner Thorne certainly won’t let her squad think that setting the program’s consecutive victories mark is an inevitability.

Specifically, the coach wasn’t thrilled with the way her team passed the ball and played defense during long stretches of both of last weekend’s games, so those elements will be keys to watch against the Bruins (5-4) and Ladies of Troy (5-4).

ASU still sits in third place in the Pac-10 behind Cal (10-0) and Stanford (9-1).

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Last Week (2-0, 15-6 overall, 7-2 Pac-10): ASU 66, Washington State 47; ASU 80, Washington 64.

What We Learned: The Sun Devils are going streaking! They’re playing their best basketball of the season as the first half of the Pac-10 campaign winds down. ASU has now won seven straight after dispatching both Washington schools with relative ease.

The Sun Devils clearly have a lot of confidence right now, and it’s showing; they’re clicking in pretty much every facet of the game. Quoth Charli Turner Thorne in the Arizona Republic: “This team could be the best team I’ve ever coached. It’s all here. We’ll see how it goes, but it’s all here.”

Their streaking hasn’t allowed the Sun Devils to climb much further in the Pac-10, though. They remain in third place as league-leading Cal is enjoying a longer streak than ASU. The Golden Bears won their 10th consecutive contest on Saturday, 73-71 over USC. Stanford was 7-2 heading into its Sunday game against UCLA.

Star of the Week: Point guard Dymond Simon (pictured above) led the Sun Devils in scoring in both contests with 14 against the Cougars and 17 against the Huskies. Simon also had six assists against Washington to rally the Sun Devils from a slow start in the first half.

Quoth Simon: “I came into the game just trying to get a feel for it, and today wasn’t the day to do that. I am going to take this game as a lesson and come out next game with balls of fire. It was just me not being in tune with my teammates.”

Next Week: The Sun Devils will play host to the Oregon schools – Oregon on Thursday and Oregon State on Saturday. The Sun Devils beat Oregon and Oregon State last month to start their winning streak, allowing a combined 89 points to the Ducks (who are now 0-9 in the Pac-10) and Beavers (4-5).

ASU should obviously be favored to win both games, and will need to in order to keep pace with the conference leaders. Because it appears as if Cal and Stanford are playing as well as the Sun Devils are right now.

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(Photo courtesy the Arizona Republic.)

Last week (1-0, 13-6 overall, 5-2 Pac-10): ASU 75, UA 38

What We Learned: That the gap between a motivated Sun Devils team and a rebuilding Wildcats squad has never been bigger. ASU dismantled UA in every phase of Saturday’s game en route to handing the Wildcats their biggest loss in the rivalry since 1980.

The Sun Devils started 0-2 in Pac-10 play, but have since won five straight and now are tied for second place with USC and UCLA, both of which ASU already beat. Cal (7-0) and Stanford (6-1), the two conference teams to beat the Sun Devils, sit on top of the Pac-10.

We also learned that coach Charli Turner Thorne picked up her first commitment for 2010 in point guard Adrianne Thomas. Thomas, out of Summit High School in Fontana, Calif., is a two-time league most valuable player.

Star of the Week: Phoenix Mercury general manager Ann Meyers Drysdale took in Saturday’s game to scout ASU guard Briann January, who could be a first-round WNBA pick next year, and post Sybil Dosty.

The 6-foot-3 Dosty (pictured above) certainly impressed all those in attendance with her fourth double-double of the season (13 points, 11 rebounds). Dosty, who grew up in Tucson and no doubt was thrilled to play so well against the Wildcats, outplayed the conference’s double-double leader, Ife Ibekwe.

What’s Next: A trip to the Evergreen State where the Sun Devils should probably be favored to pick up another couple of victories. Washington and Washington State have identical 1-6 records and are tied for eighth in the Pac-10 ahead of only winless UA.

The Sun Devils are in the middle of a stretch of games against the conference’s bottom half, and it’s imperative that they don’t slip against one of these teams, because, as ASU has already seen, the upper half of the Pac-10 looks pretty strong.

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