ASU Prepares for Tall Task Against Oregon State After its Best Start in Program History.

(Photo: Elijah Longoria/WCSN)

TEMPE – Arizona State women’s basketball has broken its record for its best start in program history. Now 10-0, the Sun Devils will head up to Corvallis to face the 6-4 Oregon State Beavers, and if they want to extend their streak even further, they’re going to have to go through some giant redwoods, literally.

The Beavers stand tall, with nine of the 15 players on their roster standing six feet or taller, which definitely plays to their advantage. In the West Coast Conference, they are third in blocks, averaging five per game. 6-foot-3 freshman forward Lara Alonso-Basurto and 6-foot-8 redshirt senior Nènè Sow.

In terms of rebounds, they are fourth in the WCC, averaging 40.8 per game, also led by Alonso-Basuro with 5.7 per contest.

With a field goal percentage of 43.9 percent and a three-point percentage of 34.5 percent, OSU is fourth and third in those respective categories in the WCC. Senior guard Tiara Bolden leads the Beavers with 16.1 points per game, putting her fourth in the WCC.

This year, the Beavers are 6-1 at home, and that is no coincidence. The environment in Gil Coliseum is known to be electric, with 4000-plus fans filling the stands regularly. With its average attendance ranking 2nd in the WCC, it is no surprise that Oregon State fields some sort of advantage when it comes to playing on its home court.

The Beavers are going through a bit of a rough patch, finishing1-3 in their last four games. They suffered some pretty tough losses, including to rival Oregon, and seventeenth-ranked Vanderbilt.

Besides playing talented squads, the biggest liability for the Beavers has been their inability to come back after falling behind. In three out of their four losses this season, opponents never fell below a 70% win probability when leading heading into the second half. This is especially notable, considering the final 20 minutes are when ASU seems to turn up its notch the most.

In addition, the Beavers are 6th in the conference in points scored. While they shoot well, getting enough good looks on the floor has been sort of a problem. In the blowout losses they suffered against Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Oregon, they simply were outperformed offensively. If this trend continues, the Sun Devil defense could be a key factor ahead of this Sunday’s matchup.

ASU, in turn, has been great offensively. Over its last six games, the Sun Devils have beaten opponents by double digits, highlighted by a standout performance from graduate guard Gabby Elliott, who scored 27 points against her previous school, Penn State. While ASU’s shooting percentage only ranks 9th in the Big 12, that’s fairly solid considering the conference has four teams ranked in the NCAA top 25.

The former West Coast Conference champs in Oregon State have their strengths and weaknesses, namely a very tall and talented roster. For the undefeated Sun Devils, this definitely should be a solid matchup, but expect them to come in with confidence as they look to start the road trip off right in the Pacific Northwest.