(Photo credit: Sierra Watson/WCSN)
TEMPE — As Makayla Moore jogged onto the court for the first time with 1:03 remaining in the first quarter of Arizona State’s matchup with BYU Saturday night, she took a swipe at the bottom of her sneakers, hoping to gain some extra traction as she entered the game.
30 seconds later, her feet slipped out from under her as she battled for a loose ball in the Sun Devils’ 77-67 loss to the Cougars.
Despite her own shoes betraying her, Moore continued to box out as she scrambled up from the hardwood, holding off two defenders and clearing a path for graduate guard Tyi Skinner to grab the ball and push ASU down the court.
Moore’s effort did not dip for the rest of her 22 minutes, and the junior guard was frenetic all night. Despite the Sun Devils’ eighth consecutive loss, the Seattle U transfer was a bright spot for ASU head coach Natasha Adair. Moore finished the game +3 in plus-minus, one of two Sun Devils to finish in the positive.
“She’s that spark,” Adair said. “She’s not afraid to go out there and roll her sleeves up and get dirty. She’s blue-collar.”
For an ASU team that has often lacked quality support play from its role players, Moore executed the little things throughout the game. Defensively, whenever matched up with freshman guard Delaney Gibb, BYU’s leading scorer so far this season, Moore fought hard over screens and did well to run Gibb off her line and force difficult shots from the Alberta native.
Despite the loss, the Sun Devils, through a myriad of defensive tactics, held Gibb to just two points. Moore was a big part of that, and her defensive aggressiveness carried over to the rebounding battle where she hauled in six rebounds, with a team-high four of them coming on the offensive end.
Offensively, Moore did an excellent job of keeping the ball and not holding the possession for too long, aiding the flow of the ASU offense. For her efforts, Moore was rewarded with a handful of open looks, including a three with 55 seconds remaining in the first half, which she promptly buried before turning to the raucous ASU bench and flashing a smile at her joyous teammates.
“I think we came out flat,” graduate center Neveah Parkinson said, who led the Sun Devils with 17 points. “Putting her in and being able to get some deflections from her, and her just hustling, I think that helped us get back in the flow.”
Moore’s contribution was a result of Adair’s constant lineup and rotation tinkering over the past several weeks. The Sun Devils have had a different starting lineup in each of the last eight games. While injuries have played a factor in the constant changes, Adair has searched up and down her bench for a jolt and may have finally found it in Moore. Still, after an eighth consecutive loss, Adair knows that there are deeper underlying issues within the team than just who can be the energizer off the bench.
“It’s just those moments where you gotta get over the flare, you gotta communicate on the back door switch, you gotta get there and not stop short on that close out,” Adair said following the loss. “And those are teachable moments. This stings. It’s not okay. We don’t go in that locker room and say this is okay because we had another opportunity that we let get away.”
Fortunately for Adair and company, they have seven days until their next game, a Territorial Cup clash with Arizona next Saturday. The matchup will be a crucial contest for ASU and a strong litmus test for what the second half of Big 12 Conference play may hold.
