(Photo: Marlee Smith/WCSN)
After starting out the year with back-to-back victories over Air Force and Army, Arizona State (2-1) dropped their third game 80-66 against Minnesota last Sunday.
ASU’s trip to Minnesota was the first real test for head coach Charli Turner Thorne and the Devils. Turner Thorne told the media Wednesday she believes a combination of bad defense and an inconsistent and young roster is what held the Devils back in that game.
Sun Devils allowed three Golden Gophers players to score 15 or more points, their first time allowing more than one opposing player to score over 15 points this season.
“We just defensively aren’t where we should be and that’s my fault,” Turner Thorne said. “We didn’t defend and I think we’re better than we played on Sunday, but I just had to take that to heart and be like ‘no.’
“It’s a process every year to learn your team and know how to help them and I don’t think that I helped them as well as I should’ve in that game.”
As for the inconsistency of the roster, injuries are currently setting the Sun Devils back. Starting center senior Jaime Ruden could miss up to six weeks after suffering a foot injury and senior Robbi Ryan missed the season opener with a foot injury.
Turner Thorne said that once she is able to get a solid rotation down, she believes that her team will have no problem getting back on track to win these key games.
“I thought Minnesota played really well. I do credit them, but also, I do fault myself,” Turner Thorne said. “We know we’re going to have growing pains. We know we’re not going to be peaking. We haven’t had our full team ever yet. We know it’s going to take some time.”
After scoring 12 points in both of the first two games this season sophomore Jayde Van Hyfte went 0-6 against Minnesota. Still, Turner Thorne said she’s not worried about Van Hyfte’s offensive struggles because of all of the other things she does well.
“If anything, we’re trying to take the pressure off of Jayde,” Turner Thorne said. “She’s our most consistent defender, she runs the floor, she’s relentless; She’s doing so many things in her first year of really playing and the last thing we want to put on her is ‘oh by the way score double digits every game.’”
As for Cal Poly, they currently sit at 1-3 after defeating Sacramento State 62-43 for their first win of the season.
The Sun Devil defense will need to step up their game against a Mustang team led by true freshmen Abbey Ellis and first year transfer Sierra Campisano.
Ellis has scored in double-figures in Cal Poly’s last three games, is averaging 16.8 points per game and scored a season high 29 points in their win over Sacramento State. On the other hand, after only averaging 6.1 minutes per game and 1.8 points at Oregon as a sophomore last year Campisano is looking to have a breakout year as the Mustangs starting center. Through their first four games she is averaging a healthy 30.3 minutes per game alongside 15.0 points and 9.5 rebounds.
Tip-off between the Arizona State Sun Devils and the Cal Poly Mustangs is set for 5 p.m. Sunday night at Desert Financial Arena. The game will be streamed on the Pac-12 Networks.
