Arizona State (3-0) got its third win at home to continue the beginning of its season against the San Francisco Dons (1-2), winning 77-69.
ASU head coach Natasha Adair said she is learning the Sun Devils have more layers to them this year, as they’ve shined on both sides of the ball in just their first three games.
“What I’m learning about our group is depth,” Adair said. “And that it doesn’t matter the player; they’re ready when their name is called.”
The Sun Devils’ defense made a statement Monday night, forcing the Dons to 15 turnovers. ASU also had six blocks and 10 steals throughout the game, along with 37 rebounds.
The Sun Devils held the Dons to less than 20 points in the first three quarters. The Dons were starting to climb back in the fourth quarter, scoring 26 points, but ASU’s defense continued to pull through, holding the Dons back through the end of the game.
The Sun Devils weren’t powerful in all aspects of their win against the Dons as they struggled from beyond the 3-point arc. They were only 5-of-19 on three-pointers and 27-of-58 on field goals.
ASU particularly struggled in the second half of the game, putting up 35 points in the half rather than the 42 in the first half. With this, their field goal percentages dropped from about 59% to 38.5% from the second quarter to the third.
The Sun Devils strive to make sure they don’t remain comfortable going into the second half of the game and watch clips from the game to see areas of improvement, according to Adair.
“Some of it, I think, is just the more that we play and just the maturity that we’re going to have to approach the second half with an understanding that you don’t ever want to be comfortable,” Adair said. “And I don’t think that’s the case but don’t look at the score. It’s 0-0. We want to come out and make whatever adjustments we need to make.”
Nonetheless, ASU was able to secure the victory, primarily because of the help from sophomore forward Kadidia Toure.
Toure got her first career double-double, as she scored 22 points on 9-of-13 from the field and tallied 14 rebounds.
“I think when everybody sees this, it’s like ‘Good job,’ but I definitely could improve defensively and just not letting fatigue win in some moments,” Toure said. “But I think it was an overall good game. I helped the team win, so that’s all that matters.”
Toure wasn’t the only one working hard on Monday night as senior guard Jaddan Simmons, sophomore guard Trayanna Crisp and sophomore forward Journey Thompson all scored 12 points in the game, with Simmons and Crisp having four assists each.
Even more, Monday night marked junior guard Morasha Wiggins’s debut after missing the 2022-2023 campaign due to injury. Wiggins did not disappoint; she scored eight points and made four of four free throws.
“It felt great,” Wiggins said. “You know, it’s been a while. I was just happy to be out there on the court with my teammates and get a dub.”
The Sun Devils were happy to welcome Wiggins back to the court, and her hard work to get back to game day did not go unnoticed, according to Adair.
“She did great. She’s so modest,” Adair laughed. “We celebrated her in the locker room. She’s worked hard to get back to this moment and so very proud of just 23 minutes. I didn’t know how long she was going to be, but she made such an impact, and every time it was ‘Are you okay?’ and she was able to stay a little longer.”
The Sun Devils hope to continue their winning streak with their first road of the season. Arizona State will head to Louisiana to play Grambling State at Fredrick C. Hobdy Assembly Center Nov. 16 at 5 p.m. MST.
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