(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
After a convincing victory against Air Force, the No. 20 Arizona State Sun Devils (1-0) made their second home appearance in the newly named Desert Financial Arena. As the second game of their Salute to Service week, Army visited Tempe. The Sun Devils improved to 2-0 after defeating Army 83-51.
The Devils shot an impeccable 54 percent from the field against Air Force in their first contest and played stifling defense only allowing 56 points on 36 percent shooting. Defense and smart open shot taking was a simple formula that led to an easy win.
The formula against Army?
Domination on the boards, smart, controlled basketball and more suffocating defense.
Crashing the glass was also a priority for the Sun Devils in their first home game.
“We made sure that was something we really focused on…We set a goal for offensive rebounds,” said senior forward Ja’Tavia Tapley, who scored a team-high 18 points to go along with 6 rebounds.
After losing the offensive rebounding battle in their last contest 17 to 13, the team took a big step up against Army. They snagged 30 offensive rebounds compared to three from Army. The effort and focus on the boards led to about 40 percent of the points scored by the Sun Devils, as they tallied 32 second-chance points.
Sophomore forward Jayde Van Hyfte led the rebounding serge. Her effort on the glass led to 10 total rebounds and seven offensive boards. The whole team grabbed 56 total rebounds and looked unstoppable.
Along with controlling the boards the Sun Devils controlled the pace during the majority of the contest. Using their speed and versatility in transition and playing discipline half court offense allowed the team to score easily in fast break situations and limit turnovers.
“They get it off the rim and they go,” said head coach Charli Turner Thorne when describing forwards Eboni Walker and Tapley. “They can pass off the dribble as well as our guards.”
Having a fast-paced and unselfish offense makes for a team that is really “hard to guard,” said Turner Thorne. Army for sure had trouble guarding the Sun Devils as they surrendered 83 points, while Turner Thorne said she thought the Sun Devils left 20 or 30 points on the floor via misses layups and open 3-pointers.
Defensively, the Sun Devils were just as sharp. They smothered Army, forcing 25 turnovers and allowing a thin 51 points. Ja’Tavia Tapley had her hands all over this game with another game-high. This time in steals with four of the teams’ 15 takeaways.
The Devils have not allowed more than 60 points this season and will look to continue their dominance at No. 23 Minnesota, Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m.
