Senior guard Adrianne Thomas confronts Oregon State for the ball. The Sun Devils won against Texas Tech Sunday, but lost against San Diego Wednesday. (Photo by Sam Rosenbaum)
Take out Wednesday’s loss to San Diego, and the ASU women’s basketball team (2-1) has been nearly perfect in the early stages of the 2013-14 season.
The Lady Devils opened up the season by demolishing Hawaii in an 84-point affair, then topped that by scoring 85 on Sunday at Texas Tech.
Senior guard Adrianne Thomas was literally perfect on Sunday, going 2 for 2 from the floor and 14 for 14 from the free throw line for 18 points, a career high.
She was one free throw away from tying the Pac-12 record for most free throws made in game without a miss.
The Lady Raiders, which went to the NCAA tournament last season, had won 50 straight nonconference home games before the Sun Devils rolled into Lubbock.
The two big victories seem to render the loss to San Diego somewhat of a fluke.
ASU shot more than 54 percent in the two victories but more than 33 percent in the loss to San Diego.
The Sun Devils made nine three pointers against Hawaii and eight at Texas Tech but just one at San Diego.
If there’s one thing that has been consistent, it has been solid performances by ASU’s freshmen.
Even in the loss to San Diego, forward Sophie Brunner scored 12 points and hauled in seven boards. Forward Kelsey Moos totaled 12 points and five boards at Texas Tech.
Coach Charli Turner Thorne, after the San Diego game, said the freshmen have impressed her.
“I loved Kelsey (Moos) and Sophie (Brunner),” Turner Thorne said. “Our freshmen, they were warriors, and they did about what they could do.”
Even center Quinn Dornstauder contributed, coming off the bench for four points and two offensive rebounds.
But Sunday’s efforts would have been in vain without additions from the more experienced players on the team. Thomas and senior guard Deja Mann combined for 35 points in the victory.
If anything is clear from the first three games, the Sun Devils will likely crush last year’s scoring average of 58.9 points per game. ASU has averaged 74 points per game in 2013-14. Turner Thorne said that the scoring output in the Hawaii game wasn’t an anomaly, and the Sun Devils backed her up by again breaking the 80-point mark at Texas Tech.
Another trend, which certainly has contributed to increased offensive output, is quality bench production. The reserves have scored 34, 28 and 29 points in ASU’s first three games, respectively. Every Sun Devils that played against Texas Tech scored.
In the wake of the San Diego loss, Turner Thorne said a productive bench is crucial, especially when the starters are running out of gas, which she said was a problem against the Toreros.
Next up, the Providence Friars come to Tempe for a Saturday game at Wells Fargo Arena. The Friars are 2-1, having scored over 100 points in their two victories. The game begins at 4 p.m.
Reach the reporter at bmargiot@asu.edu or follow him on Twitter @BenMargiott
