While ASU women's basketball is working to get better, the team's recent loss to No. 16 West Virginia was a setback.
Despite holding an 8-12 record, just two of those wins have come in the Big 12 as ASU has gone 2-6 in conference play. The team is currently on a five-game losing streak and looking to turn things around in its first Big 12 season.
In the Sun Devils' latest game, the Mountaineers started off hot in the first quarter while the Sun Devils struggled to respond. ASU lost to West Virginia 89-59.
"I felt like we came out a little flat, obviously, and then we made a push in the second but just talked more about the consistency of energy and effort," said ASU head coach Natasha Adair, according to Sun Devil Athletics. "We worked on West Virginia's pressure, and that was kind of the key stat. They turned teams over probably 20 plus turnovers a game, and you could see they had 24 points off turnovers. Kind of rattled us a little bit, but just talked about our competitive effort from start to finish, and just something we really need to come with and put 40 full minutes together."
The Mountaineers held a commanding 28-9 lead over the Sun Devils at the end of the first quarter and never let go. West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg's cutthroat defense proved too much for the Sun Devils who struggled to keep up against their ranked opponent.
"You never know if you'll get 89 points in a game and defense travels," Kellogg said, according to Sun Devil Athletics. "To hold ASU well below their average at 59 is a solid effort."
After facing two ranked teams and losing to both — Baylor and West Virginia — ASU is optimistic about making small improvements in the Big 12. The Sun Devils are currently 13th in the conference standings.
READ MORE: ASU women's basketball heads into Big 12 with reloaded roster
ASU often struggles in the first half before picking things up. Graduate guard Tyi Skinner said showcasing intensity and confidence is key to starting off strong early in games.
"We just got to come out with the same intensity we have towards the end of the game," Skinner said after the team's loss to Baylor on Jan. 11. "Instead of trying to fight back, we should just come out the game with that energy, obviously, everybody sees it. It's kind of starting off a little bit slow, so we got to come together and figure that out as a team."
This season, the Sun Devils have a negative point differential in three of the four quarters. ASU typically plays the worst in the first and fourth quarters but makes up some ground in the second. Skinner and the team are fighting game by game to get better one percent every day.
Adair and the Sun Devils are also facing the new reality of Big 12 competition after years in the Pac-12. That change has come with much-needed adjustment as Adair looks to launch her program in a new home.
Former Pac-12 school Utah has a winning conference record at 5-3, and UA is at 4-4. Meanwhile, Colorado joins ASU on the shorter end of the stick with a losing record.
"There's talent in both conferences," Adair said according to Sun Devil Athletics. "There's a lot of different styles of play in the Big 12. You're going to see offense, you're going to see defense, you're going to see pressure, but they're still elite teams. I mean, there are eight teams from the Pac-12 that went (to the NCAA Tournament), nine teams from the Big 12 that went one year ago. So you're seeing elite talent across the board. It's just different styles of play in some instances."
Edited by Jack Barron, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporter at aabdeen3@asu.edu and follow @ayabdeen on X.
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Aya is a senior studying sports journalism with a minor in communication. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has also worked at The Next, Cronkite News and Blaze Radio.
