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ASU Basketball: Women's Basketball Roundtable

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 12:52 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Sam Ficarro/FanSided via Devils in Detail

With Pac-12 play off and running, the women’s basketball coverage team talks about ASU basketball’s turnaround, keys for Pac-12 play and offer predictions.

Arizona State enter the second weekend of Pac-12 play with an overall record of 10-3 and a 1-1 in Pac-12 play.

The Sun Devils struggled out of the gates beginning the season 2-2, including a 41-point loss to the hands of Maryland in Las Vegas.

That game was a wake-up call for Arizona State and that haven’t looked back since as they went on to win seven games in a row before falling to Stanford last Friday.

They bounced back Sunday with a double-overtime victory over California. It showed ASU’s resiliency as they were able to match Cal bucket-for-bucket.

The senior class of Sophie Brunner, Quin Dornstauder and Kelsey Moos look to carry the Sun Devils deeper this season after disappointingly losing in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

Arizona State have Utah, Colorado and Washington State next up before entering a brutal stretch versus the top teams in the Pac-12 conference.

It’s essential Sun Devils to pick up victories at home and in games in which they are favored because of the depth and level of competition in the Pac-12.

There are three questions that surround the women’s basketball team at the moment. What was the key to Arizona State’s turnaround from their 2-2 start, what are the keys for the Sun Devils to succeed in Pac-12 play and predictions for how the ladies will fare in the Pac-12.

You will read the thoughts of Sam Ficarro, Jordan Kaye, Gigi Micketti and Leah Soto.

Without further ado, the first topic of discussion.

Jan 3, 2016; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils women

1. Since the 83-42 loss versus Maryland, Arizona State have won eight of nine games. What has been the biggest reason for their turnaround?

Sam: The biggest reason for their turnaround has been the growth of the freshman players. Arizona State’s highly-touted recruiting class has had some growing plays, but they are starting to become more and more comfortable. Reili Richardson, who became the starting point guard after fellow freshman Kiara Russell suffered an injury, has done a great job running the offense, setting up the post players and driving into the paint. Richardson gives ASU a speed aspect they have not had in past years. Freshmen guard Robbi Ryan has also provided stout defense and some offensive production coming off the bench.

Jordan: They have gotten back to the basics by getting the ball down low to their experienced players for higher percentage shots.  It is taking pressure off the young guards and frees them up for easy shots later in the game.  They are making the opponent’s defense work so hard to defend them, that by the fourth quarter ASU has wore them down and can easily pull away.  To go along with that, coach Charli Turner Thorne said that rebounding was the best thing they are doing right now, they are keeping the ball from their opponents while getting more second chances themselves.

Gigi: ASU has been able to settle into a more relaxed style of play. After the embarrassing loss to Maryland, the team really focused on the basics and were able to find their rhythm. Their upset win against Kentucky has built up the team momentum and was the biggest showcase on the skills they’ve been practicing, staying strong when rebounding and being able to sink the easy shots. The seniors have also been able to remain consistent in leading the young team, and the freshmen have stepped up to earn their spots on the team.

Leah: The seniors have really stepped up and started contribute for when it comes to points. At the beginning, it was mostly the younger players who were putting up points but now the seniors have started to grab more rebounds and are scoring more consistently which has really taken a load off the shoulders of the other players. Especially when you would expect the more experienced players to be the ones to make the biggest impacts.

Mar 21, 2015; Tempe, AZ, USA; Arizona State Sun Devils center Quinn Dornstauder (22) shoots a free throw during the second half against the Ohio Bobcats in the first round of the women

2. Last season, Arizona State went 16-2 in Pac-12 play, earning them a share of the Pac-12 title. With the Pac-12 having up to seven ranked teams in the AP Poll, what will be the biggest key for Arizona State for them to have success during conference play?

Sam: The biggest key for Arizona State will be the play of Quinn Dornstauder and Kelsey Moos. Two of the three senior starters, they have struggled to put up consistent numbers game-in and game-out. We know what we are getting from Sophie Brunner, but we haven’t seen consistency with Dornstauder and Moos. In the double overtime win versus Cal, Dornstuader had her best game of the season finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. ASU got her involved early for a couple of early buckets, and with Cal in foul trouble, she was able to take advantage. Moos is ASU’s leading three-point shooter, but she is not really involved in the offense right. She is a great defender, but I would like to see the Sun Devils give her more touches to impact the game.

Jordan: The biggest key for ASU will be consistency, they are going to be playing much better opponents with shorter rest times.  With a much younger team than last year the seniors are going to have to help the younger players build up confidence to face better opponents nightly and to pick them up if they do have a bad game.  They have already played and beaten ranked opponents, so the better play should not be too much for them to handle.

More from Devils in Detail

Gigi: Consistency is key for the Devils. Having a young team provides many challenges this season, especially with the Pac-12 teams moving up in the rankings, making this season much more challenging than last year. Seniors Quinn Dornstauder, Sophie Brunner, and Kelsey Moos are the backbone of this team and lack of consistency from them in preseason games nearly destroyed the team in game play. The underclassmen have proved to be able to step up and hold their own, but without the seniors supporting them, conference play could be too much for them to handle.

Leah: Arizona State needs to be consistent. They will do really well in one quarter and then not so well in the next and that seems to get them behind, or not as far ahead as they should be. They also tend to do well in one area one game and then slow down in that area and pick up again in a different one. They really need to make sure that their overall game is strong. Especially when it comes to individual players.

Mar 8, 2015; Seattle, WA, USA; General view of KeyArena before the finals of the Pac-12 Women

3. What are your predictions for Arizona State in Pac-12 play?

Sam: I think Arizona State will finish as a Top 4 seed and earn a bye in the Pac-12 Tournament. The other three teams I expect to finish in the Top 4 is UCLA, Stanford and Washington. I think the Sun Devils will slot in as the third seed ahead of Washington and behind UCLA and Stanford. It’s going to be ultra-competitive and there is not going to be much separation between the teams.

Jordan: I think ASU is going to have around 4 losses in Pac-12 play.  They play six ranked opponents two times each, so there will be some dropped games.  It is very hard to beat a team twice, so i see them winning just about every game against unranked teams, while splitting a few series with ranked opponents such as Washington, UCLA, Stanford, and Colorado.  The biggest thing for them is to stay healthy,  last year they got a number two seed in the tournament, but were so banged up after a brutal Pac-12 stretch that they lost in the second round.  They should be able to get a top 5 seed again this year and if healthy can make a much deeper run.

Gigi: ASU seems to perform well against ranked teams, but at times they lose to teams they should have an easy win against. This being said, I think the Devils will struggle against teams like UCLA and Stanford (who they have already lost to once already), and possibly drop easy games  against a non-ranked team in the conference. The Sun Devils should finish out in the middle of the conference with a decent record going into the Pac-12 tournament.

Leah: I think they’ll come in fifth in the standings and have around five Pac-12 losses

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