Arizona State women’s basketball secured its first win of the season on Monday night against the Roadrunners from the University of Texas at San Antonio.
After a roller coaster off-season with senior guard Tyi Skinner’s season-ending injury and the sting of the difficult 2022-23 season, the Sun Devils were relieved with how the new season has begun, winning 70-55.
With some of the same players and a lot of fresh faces, Desert Financial Arena took center stage on Monday night for all things Sun Devil basketball.
The first half started with a barrage of steals that quickly converted to buckets. The Sun Devils got 22 of their points off of the 20 total Roadrunner turnovers.
The frisky defense and transition offense were pivotal in tonight’s game as the Sun Devils would euro step into a comfortable 25-12 lead to end the first quarter.
Two guards, sophomore Jalyn Brown and freshman Marina Radocaj were some of the newer talents on the court, giving the veteran Sun Devils a boost.
Sophomore guard Trayanna Crisp, sophomore forward Journey Thompson, senior guard/forward Treasure Hunt, and, of course, senior guard Jaddan Simmons rounded out the veteran group.
A welcome return for the Sun Devils was that of senior guard/forward Maggie Besselink, who missed all of last season due to an injury.
She came back during Monday’s game with energy and aggression. Besselink scored 10 points and totaled five rebounds in her return.
The Sun Devils’ rampage continued in the second quarter. ASU finished with nine steals in the first half to UTSA’s one. Simmons had four steals in the entire game, but three of them came in the first half.
“I always take defense seriously, and[ASU head coach Natasha Adair] already told me I need a bunch of steals,” said Simmons. “Defense is what I like to do first; it’s just a habit, really.”
ASU’s defense shined against UTSA as it forced 14 of the 20 Roadrunners turnovers in the first half.
It also didn’t help the Roadrunners that ASU finished the first half shooting 51.5% on field goals and a perfect 50% from behind the arc.
Brown was on fire offensively, tallying a straight 50% field goal percentage. Even more, Radocaj had a buzzer-beating three-point shot to go into halftime that led to a massive 26-point lead by the Sun Devils to end the first half.
“It’s 0-0 when we come back out,” said head coach Natasha Adair at halftime. “We have to keep our foot on the gas; don’t let up.”
The Sun Devils did not let up on defense in the second half, but their offense would slip away. ASU only got 11 shots off in the third quarter and only made three of them. The team shot 27.3% from the field and continued to struggle in the fourth.
The Sun Devils were out-rebounded the entire game despite having a fairly noticeable height advantage on the court. The Roadrunners ended the night with 46 rebounds to ASU’s 36.
All the Sun Devils needed was to contain the Roadrunner offense to secure the win in the second half. Adair’s unit completed its task, holding UTSA to 36.6% from the field in the second half.
ASU played with an aggressive style on Monday night, drawing 25 fouls, but the team also committed 25 fouls.
“It’s good to be aggressive out of the gate,” said Adair. “We can work on bringing that and dialing that back versus the other. If we were the aggressive team, I’m okay with that.”
While this was an easy first-game win for ASU, the competition will become steeper as the season picks up.
The Sun Devils (1-0) stay in Tempe as Montana State comes into Desert Financial Arena Friday before the team heads out on the road for the first time this season. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. MST on Friday.
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