ASU women's basketball finds balanced offense on way to third-straight win
There were a lot of questions about what Arizona State’s offense would look like without leading scorer Tyi Skinner.
But head coach Natasha Adair’s statement of a balanced offense ran true over the first three games. Each game has different players stepping up offensively, and ASU had four different players scoring in double figures.
As a result, ASU earned its third-straight win, 77-69, against University of San Francisco at Desert Financial Arena on Monday.
“What I'm learning about our group is our depth and that it doesn’t matter the player, they’re ready when their name is called,” head coach Natasha Adair. “Just being able to have the versatility and the flexibility as a coach and continuing to learn about lineups as we’re growing as a team, we’re really proud of how we competed.”
ASU tinkered with its starting five after Jalyn Brown was unavailable, sliding in forward Journey Thompson. Brown will not be available for Thursday’s game at Grambling State, but will be back soon, according to Adair.
The Sun Devils bench wasn’t impacted too much as guard Morasha Wiggins returned in her first game in over a year since a knee injury. Wiggins transferred to ASU from North Carolina ahead of last season and couldn’t play for medical reasons. She was eased into the game and finished with eight points on 2-of-6 shooting and 23 minutes on the floor.
Key moments
Over the last three games, ASU has put together impressive performances in the first half against nonconference opponents. Against USF, ASU shot a 50% clip (18-for-36) and had eight different players producing.
Defensively, ASU kept a tight hold on USF and limited the Dons to nine field goals in the half. The Sun Devils also converted defense into offense throughout the half. Maggie Besselink laid a block on Debora dos Santos that was returned to the rim from Besselink on an assist from Trayanna Crisp in the second quarter.
ASU authored several runs in the first half, but the most impressive came during the second quarter when ASU scored 13 unanswered to take a 36-15 lead.
The second half was a different story as ASU shot 40.9% and made nine field goals on 22 attempts. USF made significant adjustments and scored 42 points, while also knocking down four 3-pointers.
Top performers
Kadidia Toure finished with a double-double, recording 22 points and 14 rebounds. She played a big role in the 42-point first half with 14 points.
Trayanna Crisp has looked better in each game and provided help on both ends with 12 points, four assists, and three steals.
They said it
“I felt a little bit of everything. I was happy, I was sad, I just felt everything. Just being out there and sitting on the floor, I was nervous. To finally get it over with, I’m happy to get on with the next one.” — ASU guard Morasha Wiggins on coming back from injury.
“I definitely could improve defensively and not let fatigue win in some moments. I think overall it was a good game and I helped the team wins and that’s all that matters.” — ASU forward Kadidia Toure on her performance.
“We talk about it and we talk about it in practice. Some of it is just the more that we play, we will find the maturity we’re going to have to approach the second half with and understanding that you don’t ever want to be comfortable. I don’t think that’s the case, but don’t look at the score. We want to come out and make the adjustments we need to make and be better.” — ASU head coach Natasha Adair on the differences between halves.
Up next
ASU will briefly hit the road to face Grambling State on Thursday, Nov. 16 as part of the Legacy Series with the Pac-12 and the Southwestern Athletic Conference. The Sun Devils will head back to Desert Financial Arena on Sunday against Idaho State at 6 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU women's basketball finds balanced offense on way to third-straight win
