(Photo via Janaé Bradford/WCSN)
After a transition season that saw Arizona State Women’s Basketball go through many growing pains, the Sun Devils will make one more push to keep their season alive at the Pac-12 Conference Tournament in Las Vegas.
The Sun Devils come into Vegas as the 12th and final seed, booking them a matchup with fifth-seeded No. 19 UCLA. The Sun Devils’ seeding comes as no surprise given their 8-19 record, which included a 1-17 record in conference play.
At one point, the Sun Devils had a 6-1 record and were tied for No. 7 in conference rankings, but a combination of inexperience and injuries resulted in the Sun Devils producing their worst conference record in program history.
The team welcomed six new faces on the coaching staff – including head coach Natasha Adair – and eight new players on the roster. And although there were many new players, several couldn’t stay on the court consistently. The team had 11 games this season where eight or fewer players played, and ASU even had to forfeit two games due to a lack of players.
This unfortunate combination made it difficult for the Sun Devils to generate a consistent rhythm on offense, evidenced by their 35.7% field goal shooting on the season. The team went on a 16-game losing streak before finally snapping it against Oregon State on Thursday.
But while the list of the team’s accomplishments was short, there was some impressive individual success. Junior guard Tyi Skinner has totaled 513 points this season (19.0 per game), which is good for 40th in the nation and eighth in school history for a single season. Her three-level scoring ability has helped her carry a heavy burden on offense this season.
She is joined in the backcourt by junior guard Jaddan Simmons, a defensive specialist who averages 12.3 points per game in an upgraded offensive role this season. Expect to see her and Skinner a lot, as both guards are top 30 in the country in minutes per game and have combined for 19 games with 40 minutes played.
Junior guard Treasure Hunt is the last double-digit scorer on the team at 11.5 points per game. She has struggled with shooting this season, going just 30.7% from the field, but her size and shooting ability can open up ASU’s offense.
On the other side of the court will be the Bruins, who went 22-8 and 11-7 in conference play this season. They have had a much different and more successful season than the Sun Devils. Nonetheless, they remain a tier below the top four Pac-12 seeds, going 0-5 against them this season.
Like the Sun Devils, the Bruins are powered by their backcourt, which is led by senior guard Charisma Osborne. She averages 15.3 points per game on 38% shooting, the best since her freshman year.
The next two leading scorers on the Bruins are also in the backcourt but have much less experience than Osborne. Freshman guard Kiki Rice is the other starter, and she likes operating closer to the basket, as 67.1% of her points come from inside the arc. Freshman guard Londynn Jones is a sparkplug off the bench, averaging 9.2 points in 20.2 minutes per game.
Rice and Osborne are also excellent rebounders, averaging over 4.7 per game each. Redshirt sophomore forward Emily Bessoir helps in that department, using her 6-foot-4-inch frame to average 5.5 rebounds along with 9.2 points per game. Rebounding is an overall strength of the roster, especially on offense. They lead the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds per game at 14.8.
The two schools last met on Feb. 5, when the Bruins beat the Sun Devils 82-63 thanks to 23 points and five rebounds from Osborne. UCLA also had some great production off the bench, with Jones pouring in 20 and freshman forward Gabriela Jaquez putting up 14, one less than her career-high.
The Sun Devils’ scoring was much less balanced. The big three of Skinner, Simmons and Hunt combined for 56 points, but the rest of the team accounted for only seven. Skinner had one of her best shooting performances of the year, going 10-for-19 from the field and 6-for-9 from three, totaling 28 points. ASU will need some other players to step up if it wants to keep up with the Bruins.
The Sun Devils are the clear underdogs in this game, but there are some areas in which they possess an advantage. Despite being a top-20 team in the nation, The Bruins are a rather young and inexperienced squad, evidenced by the six underclassmen in the rotation.
The Sun Devils also come into the game with some momentum. They competed against No. 3 Utah until the very end on Feb. 19, only losing by five, and they are also coming off a weekend with a victory, something they haven’t been able to say for over two months.
While the odds are stacked high against ASU, recent performances show that the Sun Devils know how to capitalize on opportunities given to them. If they do so well enough on Wednesday, they may just get to keep their season rolling into the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament.
