(Photo: Haley Spracale/WCSN)
After a demoralizing loss in Tucson, the Sun Devils got back on track against the San Diego Toreros, winning 64-55 on Sunday.
ASU played sloppy to start the game, but they recovered to play cleaner basketball on both sides of the ball. USD had some mini runs, but the Sun Devils were in control for almost the entire second half and didn’t allow any let-ups.
One of the big keys for the game was winning the rebounding battle, with the Sun Devils ending with 43 rebounds compared to USD’s 34. 17 of those were on the offensive side and led to 22 second-chance points.
“One thing that [head] coach [Charli Turner Thorne] always emphasizes is the power of possessions and things like that, so second shots is [the] best offense,” sophomore Eboni Walker said, who finished with 14 points and led the team with nine rebounds. “These are one of our strengths, our rebounding, so we just have to make sure that we continue to do that with these games coming ahead.”
After losing to Arizona by 28 points, the rebounding advantage helped set the tone on both ends. ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne also talked about how it was a big improvement from their previous game.
“We shot horribly against U of A and we didn’t crash hard,” Turner Thorne said. “It was a step forward, having each other’s backs when we shot, we got to the weak side board better … I do think we had a much better effort today.”
In the first half, ASU picked up right where they left off, throwing the ball all over the place. The Toreros bothered the Sun Devils with their full court press and were able to jump out to a 14-4 lead early on. By halftime, the Sun Devils had twice as many turnovers as their opponent.
“The message at the break was to value the ball, value every possession … just play simple basketball,” sophomore Sydnei Caldwell said, who scored a career high 12 points off the bench.
Despite the careless play, ASU’s defense allowed them to catch up, forcing tough shots and turnovers themselves. Meanwhile, the offense once again proved that they can rely on multiple players to get the job done. Caldwell, Walker, junior Taya Hanson, and freshman Jaddan Simmons all scored in double figures.
Simmons led the team with 16 points and five assists, and looked to be the aggressor after a poor outing against Arizona.
“Last game I was just kind of slow and sluggish,” Simmons said. “I knew I had to come back from the last and just bring the energy and be aggressive …Whether that’s to kick out for [my teammates] to shoot the ball or just drive to the lane.”
In the fourth quarter, USD kept hanging in there, but they never threatened the Sun Devils, who were able to hit enough free throws to cruise down the stretch.
Despite the win, Turner Thorne once again stressed how the team is a work in progress and the fatigue they’re facing each week and how it is taking a toll on the team.
“It’s not heart, it’s not anything like that. It’s just youth and our consistency in our focus, and also playing through when you get a little bit tired,” Turner Thorne said.
In a season that she called “COVID basketball”, the Sun Devils will have to keep battling in what will be the most peculiar of circumstances.
“We’ve had [a] nonstop schedule,” Turner Thorne said. “Normally at this point in the season, we’ve been able to give them two days off [and] we’ve had a week where we had extra practice. We haven’t been able to do that … we’ve been grinding, and I just feel the mental and physical fatigue overall.”
This was ASU’s last non-conference game of the season and will now face an extended Pac-12 schedule the rest of the way.
“I do think we have enough talent to win consistently in this conference,” Turner Thorne said. “It’s just we’ve got to overcome our lack of experience, and that’s our biggest challenge.”
Just to put it in perspective, the Arizona team they faced on Thursday had a total of 339 career starts among its starting lineup. The Sun Devils had a combined 31 starts.
The Sun Devils will now go on a two-game road trip, starting at Utah this upcoming Friday and at Colorado on Sunday.
