ASU Women’s Basketball: Depth the difference for this year’s Sun Devil squad

Something was very apparent during No. 19 Arizona State’s dominating 80-44 victory over the Louisiana Tech Lady Techsters on Saturday. This team runs deep.

Everyone on the Sun Devil roster saw playing time during their Saturday afternoon contest at Wells Fargo Arena, and outside of an off-shooting day for Taya Hanson, everyone was in the scoring column by the conclusion. What was previously a weakness for the Devils in past seasons has now suddenly turned into a strength for ASU.

That should have a lot of Sun Devil fans pleased, especially if they remember the painful NCAA tournament loss to Texas last season in which the Sun Devils were outscored by 15 in the second half. That team was worn out late in games, with six players on the court for upwards of 20 minutes a night. That is in stark contrast to this years squad, which through six games, only has three players averaging over 20 minutes per game.

Those looking for an explanation to this newfound depth should look no further than the four freshmen that have made an immediate impact since their arrival to Tempe. The four future stars; Taya Hanson, Iris Mbulito, Jamie Loera and Jayde Van Hyfte, all have different avenues of contribution, and they have certainly earned the confidence of Head Coach Charli Turner Thorne.

“I would say right now there is probably not a game I wouldn’t put them in,” Turner Thorne said after Saturday’s win. “To have these players that are fresh and hungry and talented, it’s really fun.”

Kianna Ibis, who finished as the Devils leading scorer with 13 points, echoed her head coach’s sentiment after the game.

“It keeps us fresh, we can be able to run teams and push the ball whenever we want,” Ibis said.

The depth will also allow the Devils to cover for the inevitable injuries that will come over the course of this season. Ibis expects that the depth will help the Devils stay focused throughout the grind of a D1 college basketball season.

“Last year, we were kind of limited because people on our team were injured and stuff like that,” Ibis said. So just being able to fully go..overall helps what we want to do.”

The victory bell rang four times at center court today in Tempe. With freshman that Turner Thorne described as “superstars” on Saturday and a team that runs almost three waves deep, expect to hear those rings increase as this season continues.