(Photo: Brooke Faber/WCSN)
The Sun Devil women’s basketball team is heading down to Dallas this weekend to take on SMU. The team is looking to capture its first win of the season, after stumbling against Kentucky in its season opener.
Last December, ASU played SMU at home and won with authority 77-42. The Sun Devils will be looking for another dominating win after coming off of that tough loss.
SMU is a young, inexperienced team with only one senior and seven underclassmen. The Sun Devils will look to take advantage of SMU’s lack of experience by applying heavy pressure and look to exploit their youth though steal which will hopefully lead to fast break points for the Sun Devils.
However, they do have a lot of young, raw talent, including sophomore forward Alicia Froling. Froling was awarded the 2015 Australian NCAA player of the year. She was the leading scorer for the Mustangs last season averaging 11.5 points and was her team’s second leading rebounder averaging a little over 11 per game.
The Sun Devils are going to have to be picky with shot selection in the paint. Froling stands at 6-foot-3 and recorded 54 blocks alone last season.
As for the Sun Devils in this match up, they can’t come in overly confident, or it may prove costly. ASU can trust the ability of its experienced players such as guard Katie Hempen and forward Sophie Brunner. Brunner will be looking to have another dominating scoring performance — she went 3-for-3 from behind the arch and finished with 19 points in last week’s loss.
SMU isn’t known for its three-point shooting, so ASU can take advantage and focus on its interior defense. This will allow ASU to find its defensive rhythm quickly.
