(Photo: Travis Whittaker/WCSN)
Arizona State defeated No. 2 Oregon Friday night in Tempe in what was one of the biggest upsets in college basketball. The Ducks came into Friday night 12-1 on the season leaders in the Pac-12 and in the national conversation for another Final Four run.
One victory over Oregon in early January will probably not derail the Ducks from being national championship contenders at season’s end. But it did garner national attention for an ASU team that is clicking and getting healthy at just the right time.
ASU’s recipe to stopping the high octane Oregon offense was simple: rebound and create turnovers. It worked wonders.
ASU gobbled up 13 offensive rebounds and Oregon turned the ball over 17 times. The Sun Devils scored 17 points off those turnovers.
“Our main key was rebound, rebound, rebound, literally,” ASU senior forward Ja’tavia Tapley said.
Tapley has become an anchor for the Sun Devils’ rebounding scheme, averaging 7.2 rebounds per game and setting the tone down low. Tapley is also doing the little things on the court defensively.
Friday night was no different as Tapley dove for loose balls, tipped passes and caused multiple jump balls against Oregon. All of these were small plays that won’t ever show up on a stat sheet, but did add up to a crucial conference victory.
“Being on the same page when we are running a play, we know like when Reili (Richardson) gets the ball, she is probably going to shoot it,” ASU senior guard Robbi Ryan said. “So just being ready to rebound and have her back, so just being on the same page I think really helped with this.”
ASU clicked offensively in the fourth quarter, knocking down five of six three pointers after struggling from behind the arc early-on. Streaky shooting will get a team victories in the regular season. But defense and rebounding separates the best teams in the postseason. Arizona State showed they can compete with those teams.
“Going into the fourth quarter I said hey guys I know you’re tired,” head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “So just get a little bit lower, get a little bit deeper, snap those wrists and we all just kind of smiled, they were so tough.”
Their toughness will be tested throughout Pac-12 play as No. 3 Oregon State comes to Tempe Sunday and the conference has five ranked teams. But ASU is a battle tested team, that believes they can be in the national conversation at year’s end.
