ASU women's basketball rebounded from consecutive losses with a 64-55 win over San Diego on Sunday in Tempe.
Although its 28-point loss to UA three days earlier was the program's largest since last season, sophomore forward Eboni Walker said the team viewed the result as a lens into where they could improve going forward.
"In this program, we never take a game as a loss," Walker said. "We use it as a learning opportunity."
The Sun Devils' struggles continued early versus the Toreros as they fell behind by as many as 10 points, having particular difficulty avoiding turnovers against the full-court press.
"We knew we needed to pick it up and just come out a little bit stronger," sophomore guard Sydnei Caldwell said. "Pick up the intensity, pick up our defense and just really stick to the game plan."
The Sun Devils took control of the game after making their adjustments. Although the game remained competitive throughout, as their lead never grew larger than 12, they led for the entire second half.
Although ASU (5-2) had its own issues offensively, shooting just 5-21 from three and turning the ball over 17 times, they were stifling on defense, holding San Diego to 35.1% shooting from the field after scoring 98 points in its last outing.
The Sun Devils also imposed their will on the glass, grabbing 43 rebounds and 17 offensive rebounds, compared to the Torero's 34 rebounds and 14 offensive rebounds.
"We shot horribly against UA, and we didn't crash hard," ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "We didn't have each other's backs. So, I thought it was a step forward."
Freshman guard Jaddan Simmons led the way for ASU on offense, totaling a team-high 16 points and five assists on 5-9 shooting.
Junior guard Taya Hanson, Walker and Caldwell all scored over double digits with 13, 14 and 12 points, respectively.
For San Diego (2-2), redshirt senior guard Jordyn Edwards scored a season-high 16 points, while freshman guard Gabby Giuffre scored 11.
As the Sun Devils prepare for the remainder of their Pac-12 schedule, Thorne said the young team still has areas they have not been able to fully develop due to how packed their season has been.
"Normally, at this point in the season, we've been able to get two days off, we've been able to have a week where we have extra practice," Thorne said.
ASU will face Utah next on Dec. 18 as they seek to improve to 2-2 within conference play this season.
Reach the reporter at cbreber@asu.edu and follow @carsobi on Twitter.
Like State Press Sports on Facebook and follow @statepresssport on Twitter.
