TEMPE – A slow start for the Sun Devil women's basketball coupled with a fast start by No. 16 West Virginia proved to be too big of an obstacle for the Sun Devils to overcome in an 89-59 loss to the Mountaineers on Wednesday.
Coming off her season-high 32-point outing at current No. 10 Kansas State on Sunday, Jalyn Brown once again paced ASU (8-12, 2-6 Big 12) with 16 points. Kennedy Fauntleroy scored 14 points and led the ASU in both rebounds (seven) and steals (two). Fauntleroy (5-8 FGs) and Jyah LoVett (10 points, 4-8 FGs) combined to shoot 56 percent from the floor for the Sun Devils, who shot 53 percent in the fourth quarter (9-17 FGs) to end the game on a high note after making 36 percent of their shots through three quarters.
West Virginia (16-3, 6-2) was led by Ja'Naiya Quinerly (29 points) and Kylee Blacksten (24 points) who accounted for more than half of the Mountaineers' offense.
Unlike in recent games in which it was able to seriously challenge the opposition after falling behind by more than 10 points, ASU was not able to put together a significant scoring run after it was out outscored 28-9 in the first quarter.
The Sun Devils did not let their struggles on offense compromise their effort on the defensive end. After the Mountaineers shot 67 percent in the first quarter, they managed to make only 23 percent of their attempts in the second quarter. In addition, ASU limited West Virginia to just eight points matching the second-fewest point total by the opposition in a quarter this season.
Although they shot 45 percent in the second quarter, the Sun Devils were only able to outscore the Mountaineers 14-8 and still trailed 36-23 at the half.
The energy the Sun Devils showed on the defensive end in the second quarter did not carry over into the third quarter as the Mountaineers outscored ASU 15-3 in the first six-plus minutes of the second half.
On Saturday, Sun Devil Basketball will host the second of three doubleheaders featuring both the Sun Devil men's and women's basketball teams. The Sun Devil men's basketball team will start the day against No. 3 Iowa State at 12 p.m. At 4 p.m. the Sun Devil women's basketball team will take on Cincinnati. Click here for more information on how to be in attendance for both of Saturday's contests.
Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach Natasha Adair
Opening Statement:
"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. 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."
On preparing for Cincinnati:
"Cincinnati will be a different team in the sense of how they pressure. West Virginia's identity is pressure. But I just thought there were some high risk passes that we didn't need to make. We tried to thread the needle. We talked about more ball movement, and in our kind of our four out, five out spread offense, getting in the paint and playing off two feet. You play off two feet, now you can make the extra pass, you can make other reads. And I felt like we were getting downhill, but not really making the right reads. We were either trying to force the shot or not reading the defense. Those are things that we had talked about, and it'll be a good film session in preparation for Saturday, for sure. But that was kind of West Virginia's identity, more than it will be Cincinnati's."
On second quarter successes:
"We were patient on offense, right on the board, it was poise versus pressure. And we were moving the ball around. We weren't making high risk plays or high risk passes. We were taking the open shots that we got. And again, if you can't turn them over, they want to speed you up. A live ball turnover starts their break. And so the more we were able to execute, it slowed them down. I also felt like our pressure, even though it was contained, slowed them down as well, so they couldn't get loose in transition. I just think that the second quarter, towards the end of it, we just had more poise on offense and just patience defensively, and they weren't as active in the open court."
On difference between Pac-12 and Big 12:
"There's talent in both conferences. You didn't see this much pressure, obviously, in the Pac-12, it was definitely more efficient from an offensive standpoint, and more read and react, more continuity offenses. 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."
West Virginia Head Coach Mark Kellog
Opening Statement:
"For the most part a solid effort. Inconsistent for me at times, particularly the second quarter, got away from us offensively, and I thought we lost our identity. I enjoyed how we started the game and our response in the third quarter, and most part in the fourth quarter. Proud of the group, we needed to come on the road and find our road identity. We've been impressive at home and let things slip on the road. It was our 900th win as a program and it's awesome for the university and the ones who played before us. Kylie with her career-high was productive and has been for quite some time. Arizona State presents a different challenge than some other teams we've faced. Proud of the group for their preparation and getting the win in Tempe."
On its defensive identity:
"That's been our identity all year and it's not overly difficult. They understand the assignments and the game plan changes, but it's been our calling card and when you play on the road you want your defense to propel you. You never know if you'll get 89 points in a game and defense travels. To hold ASU well below their average at 59 is a solid effort."
On the culture, Natasha Adair has built:
"I was at Stephen F. Austin and played them her first year, I've seen the evolution from that year to now. I'd watched a lot of tapes on them and at Kansas State that was a six or eight-point game in the fourth quarter and how they were playing against a quality opponent. They had our full attention coming into tonight and that's the best compliment I could give them. They create some problems because of their athleticism and size. They're a hard guard, I was impressed with our group for holding that team to 59. It takes and in year three it looks better than in year one when I was at Stephen F. Austin."
On what JJ Quinerly means to the program:
"She's the spark and can be an instant offense. She can get it going from every level and you see her speed and quickness. She's the most dynamic player I've coached and you see it tonight. When she gets going and is in the proverbial zone she's hard to stop. She's shooting the three with more confidence, gets a lot of steals, and wreaks havoc on the defensive end. Since Christmas break, she's had a different look in her eye. I think that would be a fair statement and seems to have the weight of the world off her shoulders and she's hooping. I think she's gonna do some big things here down the stretch."
Graduate Student Kylee Blacksten:
On how her game and long-range shooting have developed since leaving Colorado:
"That's something you always try to grow, whether it's on the defensive end or offensive end, it's constantly wanting to improve in any aspect of your game. I've grown in the low post area because I didn't grow up playing there, so it's kind of a switch mentally."
Coming off her season-high 32-point outing at current No. 10 Kansas State on Sunday, Jalyn Brown once again paced ASU (8-12, 2-6 Big 12) with 16 points. Kennedy Fauntleroy scored 14 points and led the ASU in both rebounds (seven) and steals (two). Fauntleroy (5-8 FGs) and Jyah LoVett (10 points, 4-8 FGs) combined to shoot 56 percent from the floor for the Sun Devils, who shot 53 percent in the fourth quarter (9-17 FGs) to end the game on a high note after making 36 percent of their shots through three quarters.
West Virginia (16-3, 6-2) was led by Ja'Naiya Quinerly (29 points) and Kylee Blacksten (24 points) who accounted for more than half of the Mountaineers' offense.
Unlike in recent games in which it was able to seriously challenge the opposition after falling behind by more than 10 points, ASU was not able to put together a significant scoring run after it was out outscored 28-9 in the first quarter.
The Sun Devils did not let their struggles on offense compromise their effort on the defensive end. After the Mountaineers shot 67 percent in the first quarter, they managed to make only 23 percent of their attempts in the second quarter. In addition, ASU limited West Virginia to just eight points matching the second-fewest point total by the opposition in a quarter this season.
Although they shot 45 percent in the second quarter, the Sun Devils were only able to outscore the Mountaineers 14-8 and still trailed 36-23 at the half.
The energy the Sun Devils showed on the defensive end in the second quarter did not carry over into the third quarter as the Mountaineers outscored ASU 15-3 in the first six-plus minutes of the second half.
On Saturday, Sun Devil Basketball will host the second of three doubleheaders featuring both the Sun Devil men's and women's basketball teams. The Sun Devil men's basketball team will start the day against No. 3 Iowa State at 12 p.m. At 4 p.m. the Sun Devil women's basketball team will take on Cincinnati. Click here for more information on how to be in attendance for both of Saturday's contests.
Quotes
Arizona State Head Coach Natasha Adair
Opening Statement:
"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. 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."
On preparing for Cincinnati:
"Cincinnati will be a different team in the sense of how they pressure. West Virginia's identity is pressure. But I just thought there were some high risk passes that we didn't need to make. We tried to thread the needle. We talked about more ball movement, and in our kind of our four out, five out spread offense, getting in the paint and playing off two feet. You play off two feet, now you can make the extra pass, you can make other reads. And I felt like we were getting downhill, but not really making the right reads. We were either trying to force the shot or not reading the defense. Those are things that we had talked about, and it'll be a good film session in preparation for Saturday, for sure. But that was kind of West Virginia's identity, more than it will be Cincinnati's."
On second quarter successes:
"We were patient on offense, right on the board, it was poise versus pressure. And we were moving the ball around. We weren't making high risk plays or high risk passes. We were taking the open shots that we got. And again, if you can't turn them over, they want to speed you up. A live ball turnover starts their break. And so the more we were able to execute, it slowed them down. I also felt like our pressure, even though it was contained, slowed them down as well, so they couldn't get loose in transition. I just think that the second quarter, towards the end of it, we just had more poise on offense and just patience defensively, and they weren't as active in the open court."
On difference between Pac-12 and Big 12:
"There's talent in both conferences. You didn't see this much pressure, obviously, in the Pac-12, it was definitely more efficient from an offensive standpoint, and more read and react, more continuity offenses. 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."
West Virginia Head Coach Mark Kellog
Opening Statement:
"For the most part a solid effort. Inconsistent for me at times, particularly the second quarter, got away from us offensively, and I thought we lost our identity. I enjoyed how we started the game and our response in the third quarter, and most part in the fourth quarter. Proud of the group, we needed to come on the road and find our road identity. We've been impressive at home and let things slip on the road. It was our 900th win as a program and it's awesome for the university and the ones who played before us. Kylie with her career-high was productive and has been for quite some time. Arizona State presents a different challenge than some other teams we've faced. Proud of the group for their preparation and getting the win in Tempe."
On its defensive identity:
"That's been our identity all year and it's not overly difficult. They understand the assignments and the game plan changes, but it's been our calling card and when you play on the road you want your defense to propel you. You never know if you'll get 89 points in a game and defense travels. To hold ASU well below their average at 59 is a solid effort."
On the culture, Natasha Adair has built:
"I was at Stephen F. Austin and played them her first year, I've seen the evolution from that year to now. I'd watched a lot of tapes on them and at Kansas State that was a six or eight-point game in the fourth quarter and how they were playing against a quality opponent. They had our full attention coming into tonight and that's the best compliment I could give them. They create some problems because of their athleticism and size. They're a hard guard, I was impressed with our group for holding that team to 59. It takes and in year three it looks better than in year one when I was at Stephen F. Austin."
On what JJ Quinerly means to the program:
"She's the spark and can be an instant offense. She can get it going from every level and you see her speed and quickness. She's the most dynamic player I've coached and you see it tonight. When she gets going and is in the proverbial zone she's hard to stop. She's shooting the three with more confidence, gets a lot of steals, and wreaks havoc on the defensive end. Since Christmas break, she's had a different look in her eye. I think that would be a fair statement and seems to have the weight of the world off her shoulders and she's hooping. I think she's gonna do some big things here down the stretch."
Graduate Student Kylee Blacksten:
On how her game and long-range shooting have developed since leaving Colorado:
"That's something you always try to grow, whether it's on the defensive end or offensive end, it's constantly wanting to improve in any aspect of your game. I've grown in the low post area because I didn't grow up playing there, so it's kind of a switch mentally."