The ASU women’s basketball team is headed to the Bahamas over the Thanksgiving weekend for the Junkanoo Jam and will be looking for improvement across the board.
The Sun Devils (2-1) had flashes of solid play in a Sunday loss to No. 4 Tennessee, but they weren’t consistent enough, and that’s the biggest thing that needs to change, ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said.
“We’re going to really work hard at paying attention to detail a little bit more, on everything that we do,” Turner Thorne said. “But we’re going to really take it up a notch on defense this weekend.”
Although it won’t be the only answer, rebounding will be a big part of improving that defense, redshirt sophomore forward Janae Fulcher said.
“Just making sure we get enough space to get the rebound, I think it going to be one of the biggest issues this weekend,” Fulcher said. “We were really just working on our Sun Devil defense and what we need to do to get ready to play against top-ranked teams.”
The biggest advantage of going to the Bahamas for a tournament is the chance to play stiff competition on a neutral site, Turner Thorne said.
“It’s not a huge crowd, but it’s postseason preparation,” Turner Thorne said. “You have a long road trip, you’ve got to play back-to-back games, and you’ve got to play top competition. And you have distractions, just like you do in the postseason.”
However, senior guard Tenaya Watson said the distractions shouldn’t be a problem for the team.
“A business trip; that’s all it is,” Watson said. “But if we win both games, I think we’ll have a lot of fun.”
The Sun Devils start with Providence (3-2) on Friday. The Lady Friars are led in scoring by sophomore guard Symone Roberts, who is averaging 14.2 points per game.
Providence is coming off a tough loss to Hofstra on Monday despite several players, including Roberts and junior guard Miranda Tate, matching career highs in points.
Both ASU and the Lady Friars are similar when it comes to turnovers and rebounds per game at this point in the season, but Providence appears to be the better three-point shooting team, averaging 4.6 per game to ASU’s 1.3.
Lady Friars senior forward Teya Wright has two double-doubles in five games and will also be a threat.
One advantage the Sun Devils do have over Providence is height, which could be a key factor in separating the two teams.
Depending on the outcome of Friday’s games, ASU will either face No. 14 Florida State or No. 19 Alabama. The Sun Devils last played the Seminoles (4-0) in the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2008, a 63-58 ASU victory.
This season FSU already looks very dangerous, and is coming off a solid win against No. 20 Vanderbilt. FSU senior guard Courtney Ward had a career-high 31 points in the game, along with five assists.
The Crimson Tide (4-0) are also off to a hot start, and have won all four of their games by 10 points or more. UA Senior forward Tierney Jenkins already has four double-doubles to her name, and has four blocks and 10 steals already this season.
Reach the reporter at egrasser@asu.edu
