ASU senior guard Promise Amukamara looks to pass while driving down the lane vs. Cal women’s basketball at Wells Fargo Arena on Feb. 8, 2015. (Daniel Kwon/The State Press)No. 12 ASU women’s basketball will look to rebound from a tough weekend and redeem itself from an early season loss to now-No. 8 Oregon State.
On Sunday, they’ll take on the Pac-12 first-place Beavers.
In January, ASU (21-3, 10-2 Pac-12) was outplayed by OSU (21-2, 11-1 Pac-12). The defense was too strong for a struggling ASU offense, and it was the beginning of what head coach Charli Turner Thorne called a “slump” that lasted for two weeks.
Last weekend, the slump was reversed: ASU played relatively well against two very good schools, and OSU was nearly swept before pulling out a late, five-point victory over WSU.
On Friday, OSU suffered its first Pac-12 loss and just second loss overall of the season. This was in large part because OSU was missing sophomore guard Gabby Hanson, a key bench contributor, who is one of the better defenders on the team.
That’s a large feat. The entire defense is solid and the post players have long arms. The last time ASU and OSU played, the Sun Devils were forced into 13 turnovers and junior guard Elisha Davis was unable to penetrate the lane and pass to post players.
Another reason Washington won against OSU was because the Huskies succeeded in an area where ASU failed.
“Washington … rebounded well against them, which is huge,” Turner Thorne said.
In ASU’s first game against OSU, a 68-57 loss, ASU was outrebounded 38-32. Four Oregon State players grabbed at least five boards.
Junior center Ruth Hamblin grabbed seven, a number that’s below her season average. A big reason for that was the combined efforts from sophomore forward Sophie Brunner and sophomore center Quinn Dornstauder.
Brunner said she adjusts her rebounding style based on how the other player plays.
“If they’re more vertical, they play up over me. I have to hit them first because obviously, they’re bigger than me,” she said. “It’s really just about technique and hitting them first and just being early."
She’s 6-foot-1. Hamblin, standing at 6 feet 6 inches tall, is the main concern for ASU, but she’s not the only one. The starting guards, sophomore Sydney Wiese and junior Jamie Weisner, have turned into very competent guards.
ASU needs to figure out the defensive assignments on them, though. Senior guard Promise Amukamara guarded Wiese for most of last game, and she shot just 2-for-9 and scored seven points. Weisner, on the other hand, scored 21.
“They killed us by attacking out middle,” Davis said. “(We need to) work harder to keep the in front and if anything, push them baseline.”
She said it’s easier to guard and help defend when the ball-handler doesn’t have the entire court to work with. She said that if they’re aggressive and can be more physical, they’ll have more success.
OSU will be looking to recover from a rough weekend. Oregon, which ASU plays on Friday, will look to continue a hot stretch.
The Ducks have won three of their last four, including a victory over WSU on Friday.
“Oregon has been playing well lately,” Turner Thorne said. “They have good talent.”
Against ASU in January, the Ducks played well in that game and led going into halftime. A large reason ASU trailed, though, was because the Sun Devils missed a boatload of open shots. They executed fine; the shots just didn’t fall.
ASU’s main concern will be junior forward Jillian Alleyne, who is second in the NCAA with 15.5 rebounds per game.
“She’s been playing well,” Turner Thorne said. “She’s been putting up her double-doubles and big numbers.”
The first time the two played, she grabbed “just” 12 rebounds. Again, Brunner and Dornstauder guarded her for most of the game.
Brunner did her best to stay between Alleyne and the ball handler, and it worked well for stretches. Alleyne, averaging 17.4 points per game, scored only six in the first half last time.
Despite this, Turner Thorne said the team needed to play better individual team defense and better team defense, rotating to help more efficiently. When Oregon players get around the defense, they’re able to “draw help and they kick” the ball out to open teammates.
“They’ve got good shooters,” she said. “(They’re) a really good, talented offensive team.”
Freshman guard Lexi Bando shoots 45.7 percent from the 3-point line, which is ninth in the nation and leader in the Pac-12.
Rebounding and three-point defense will be important in both games. If ASU can continue to defend the shot well and box out on the boards, they could re-take pole position of the conference.
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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