The tip-off between ASU and Oregon in Friday’s “Kids to College Field Trip” game on Jan. 23, 2015, at Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)Throughout the season, the No. 10 ASU women's basketball team's wall of defense has covered the inefficiencies of its offensive scheme. A lot of points come from transition or turnovers — if ASU can get down the court quickly before the opposing defense can set up, the team can score with the best teams.
What happens when that stops working, though? When ASU plays against national powerhouses who can adjust to counter ASU’s defensive scheme, how will ASU score enough to win?
When ASU can’t move the ball quickly, the team becomes stagnant and focuses on passing around the perimeter until a low-post player can get good position. It’s better than it was early in the season, when four players would stand around the 3-point line with very little movement. Now, at least, there are some cuts and slashes to the hoop.
What often happens, though, is that the interior player can’t get position and the ball handler is stuck with limited time on the shot trying to force a play.
ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne has been trying to fix this. In an interview with NBC Sports Radio 1060 AM after Friday’s game, she addressed the ball movement.
“We were playing so east-and-west,” she said.
ASU has athletic guards. This can be fixed.
Instead of working the ball around the perimeter before passing it low, ASU should attempt to work on a 3-point shooting rotation. Junior guard Arnecia Hawkins has been playing very well as of late, and is a sharpshooter coming off the bench. A lineup of her and redshirt junior guard Katie Hempen as shooters, sophomore forward Kelsey Moos as a big with shooting range who can set picks, and sophomore forward Sophie Brunner in the post could be effective.
With them in position, junior guard Elisha Davis would be able to use her athleticism to penetrate the lane. Defenders would have to worry about a pass to the outside shooters so double-teams would likely be late or non-existent.
With this, ASU can increase the tempo and shooting efficiency. Easy misses have been an issue and Turner Thorne spoke about it after the Utah game on Sunday.
“We actually executed, especially in the second half, better than we’ve executed in a long time,” Turner Thorne said about the Utah game. “We just missed. … I’ll take that.”
She’s critical of her team, so compliments are legitimate. When do the shooting woes become an issue, though? Easy missed layups occur multiple times every game and Hempen has been inconsistent, even on open shots.
A shooting rotation could help. Another thing that could help is getting the ball to Brunner sooner and more often. Turner Thorne has said the same.
Brunner’s able to create shots for herself. The ball handler shouldn’t have to wait until she’s in position; if Brunner receives the ball down low, she can use her toughness to dribble into and back down a defender. The other main post player, sophomore center Quinn Dornstauder, can use her height to do the same.
Dornstauder needs to be more confident and aggressive, though. Until she stops hesitating when she receives a pass in the mid-range area, she should stop shooting.
With this in mind, Dornstauder is a decent shooter: that brings up the third offensive change to institute. There’s not a ton of off-ball movement and it’s rare to set picks down low. If a guard or small forward can set an effective screen on Dornstauder’s defender, she may be able to peel away from the basket and take a shot. If she puts it up with no hesitation, there’s a good chance she’ll make an open one.
ASU should keep the same starting lineup and keep the main offensive scheme intact. The team isn’t broken; it’s not even playing poorly. This team got 20 wins sooner than any other in school history, is the second-best in the Pac-12 and just grabbed a top-10 spot in the AP Poll.
When the offense falters, though, they should have new looks ready. They’ll need it against Pac-12 powerhouses and in the NCAA tournament.
Reach the reporter at logan.newman@asu.edu or follow @Logan_Newsman on Twitter.
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