ASU women’s basketball learning hard lessons against ranked Big 12 opponents

Posted by author January 27, 2025 Basketball

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The Arizona State women’s basketball team is weathering through several storms in the Big 12.

The Sun Devils are going through a six-game losing streak and have gone 2-7 in the first half of conference play. Over the last three games, ASU has faced two ranked teams, including then-No. 10 Kansas State on the road.

ASU faced just one top-25 opponent in nonconference with Kentucky on Nov. 26 and didn’t see another ranked opponent until the loss at Kansas State on Jan. 19.

The Sun Devils came in with a fire against the Wildcats and scored 69 points — the most scored on Kansas State all season.

Jalyn Brown had a phenomenal game with 32 points and helped ASU keep the game close in the first half. Her 24.3 points over the last three games lead the Sun Devils.

ASU hoped the momentum would transfer against then-No. 16 West Virginia in the next game. But instead, the Sun Devils were outscored 28-9 in the first quarter and didn’t recover.

Brown led with 16 points and Kennedy Fauntleroy added 14 points, but ASU lost by 30 points, the worst loss of the season.

Even with the big loss, West Virginia head coach Mark Kellogg admires ASU head coach Natasha Adair’s program. The two had previously faced each other in Adair’s first season in 2022 when Kellogg was at Stephen F. Austin.

“They had our full attention and that’s the best compliment I could get them. We prepared every step of the way for everything they do,” Kellogg said. “They create some problems because of their athleticism. Their size, we watched (Nevaeh) Parkinson do a great job with Ayoka Lee and how she battles with her toughness. Kennedy Basham can create some issues too with that length. They can shoot and put it on the floor. They’re a hard guard, which was why I was impressed with our group to hold them to 59. It takes time sometimes. They played much better than when I played them in year one at Stephen F. Austin.”

The Sun Devils looked better in Saturday’s loss to Cincinnati, but couldn’t close out. The Bearcats gained opportunities through the foul line with 14 points and outscored ASU 23-7 in the fourth quarter.

Even though ASU is 13th in the Big 12, the Sun Devils are the fifth-best rebounding team with 38.0 boards per game. However, ASU is second in opponent rebounds (39.6).

ASU has the worst defense in the conference, allowing 74.5 points per game. The Sun Devils are eighth in scoring (70.5).

“For us, it’s just consistency. We’ve seen us clicking on all cylinders and we’ve seen us with slow starts. It’s the tale of two teams,” Adair said. “Right now at the halfway point, it’s the conversations that we’re having with them in the locker room. There are moments where it looks really really good, but how do we sustain that for 40 minutes? Right now, it’s continuing to work and building off what we know is really good. We want to be playing our best basketball in March.”

Up next, the Sun Devils have a hard task with No. 24 Oklahoma State on Wednesday. The Cowgirls handed No. 9 TCU its first loss last week. The Sun Devils will then go home to host BYU on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.