ASU Women’s Basketball: Sun Devils begin road trip against No. 5 UCLA and USC

(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)

In her weekly press conference on Wednesday, ASU women’s basketball head coach Charli Turner Thorne said what the latest 65-51 loss to Utah revealed about the team.

“We got exposed,” Turner Thorne said.

Turner Thorne also said the short-handed team played out of character, not exuding its usual effort and connectivity.

Now, the Sun Devils (8-4, 4-4 Pac-12) gear up for No. 5 UCLA (9-2, 7-2 Pac-12) and USC (6-7, 4-6 Pac-12) over the weekend with freshmen forwards Maggie Besselink and Katelyn Levings, and junior forward Iris Mbulito expected to return from COVID-19 protocols.

“Obviously I’m excited to see where this young team can get to at full strength.” Turner Thorne said. “We have not— a single game —been at full strength, so it’s looking good moving forward.”

UCLA will be a tough task on Friday as the Bruins are on the rise after a win over previously ranked No. 5 Stanford. Charisma Osborne and Michaela Onyenwere, the team’s top scorers, combined for 40 points and 19 rebounds in that game. UCLA has not lost since its first game against Stanford on Dec. 21 and is currently ranked third in the Pac-12 standings.

In its first matchup on Dec. 6, ASU barely lost to then No. 9 UCLA 63-59 but things have clearly changed since then.

“They’re (UCLA) going on all cylinders now,” Turner Thorne said. “We’re really trying to hammer home that they are better, and they’re going to play even faster and possibly even more aggressive, and hopefully so will we.”

In that Dec. 6 game, the Sun Devils recovered from a 17-point deficit and were ahead in the fourth quarter. However, in the last three minutes, UCLA’s Lindsey Corsaro came out of nowhere, hitting three straight three-pointers to seal the victory.

“She hadn’t hit a shot coming into our game,” Turner Thorne said about Corsaro. “We knew she was a good player though. But we left her wide open.

“Every time you go back on the game there’s a lot of things …we certainly can (be better) in terms of guarding her and same with USC.”

ASU played its first Pac-12 game against USC, winning 63-58. Freshman guard Jaddan Simmons scored a career high 20 points, while USC’s Endiya Rogers finished with 15 points on just 5-17 shooting.

Rogers has been the Trojans’ go-to scorer the entire season, averaging 16.6 ppg on the year. Yet, the Sun Devils did a good job of containing her to a degree and will have to do it again on Sunday.

ASU will also have to watch out for graduate transfer Jordan Sanders, who is second in the Pac-12 in three-point percentage and is averaging 14.8 ppg.

Regardless of its opponents this weekend, Turner Thorne is pleased with the team’s response after the uncharacteristic loss.

“This is what great teams do,” Turner Thorne said. “They just get better and don’t accept it and look at themselves hard in the mirror … and that’s what they’ve been doing.”

The Sun Devils face UCLA at 7 p.m. MST on Friday and can be seen on Pac-12 Network. Their game against USC is scheduled for 2 p.m MST on Sunday and can be seen via USC Live Stream.