(Photo credit: Maya Diaz/WCSN)
TEMPE — As the final minute of the first quarter counted down, Arizona State sophomore guard Jyah LoVett cut to the far wing, reached out and swiped away an Oregon State Beavers’ pass. With the ball in her hands, LoVett heaved a pass of her own down the court for graduate guard Jazion Jackson, who made an easy fastbreak layup to increase the Sun Devils’ lead.
That was Arizona State’s second of eight steals on the afternoon, and it began a trend of fastbreak points that the Sun Devils’ used to convert Oregon State’s mistakes into points.
“We realized that they were throwing the ball kind of loosely,” Jackson said after the game. “We felt like we could get into passing lanes and get out and get in transition.”
In Arizona State’s (3-2) 79-60 victory over the Beavers (1-3) at Desert Financial Arena on Sunday, the Sun Devils’ guards utilized their speed to force turnovers and score in transition before Oregon State could slow them down at the other end of the court.
Arizona State converted Oregon State’s 19 turnovers into 26 points of its own, its highest total of points off turnovers this season and part of an effort that tallied 30 fast break points. Its previous high for points off turnovers was 21, which came Saturday against SMU and on Nov. 8 versus Arkansas State.
Creating opportunities for turnovers was crucial to Arizona State’s success. Head coach Natasha Adair provided an aggressive defensive scheme to put pressure on Oregon State’s offense, and the Sun Devils’ executed by hounding the Beavers in tight coverage.
According to the veteran Jackson, this allowed everyone to get involved and disrupt Oregon State.
“All of our guards really want to get it in transition and get out and push,” Jackson said. “So that was what we did, and I think we executed that well as a team, and it wasn’t just one person but it was everybody collectively.”
Four Sun Devil guards, including Jackson and LoVett, the latter of whom led the team with three, snagged steals during the game.
Playing with speed in transition also opened up more opportunities for Arizona State to establish offensive rhythm and find success in the half-court offense. On Sunday, the Sun Devils turned in their most efficient offensive performance of the season, shooting a second-best 49% from the field and a season-best 44% from beyond the arc.
Defensively, capitalizing on turnovers helped Arizona State fluster Oregon State. Along with the aforementioned defensive pressure, the Sun Devils limited the Beavers to just 32% shooting from the field and 13% from three, one of its best showings in the young season.
In the two games of the 2024 Briann January Classic, Arizona State played into its strengths as a team: fast offense and aggressive defense. With 20 or more points off fast breaks and turnovers in both games, the Sun Devils paid homage to the former WNBA and Arizona State player’s defensive-focused style.
“If you think about her and how she played, it was her defensive intensity, and it was her defensive effort, and what a way to win both games on the defensive end,” Adair said. “We wanted to honor her, we wanted to name this tournament after her for all that she means to ASU, to our community.”
