Graduate Guard Tyi Skinner
On being back in her first game since the 2022-23 season:
“I'm just happy to be in front of the fans and everybody else supporting us. Like coach said, it was a gritty win, but we always want to put on a show and we always want to show our love back to the people who come out and support us. It was just a great feeling to be in the atmosphere.”
On her emotions after not playing for two years:
“It feels different. Every year I play basketball is really different. I would say that for this first home game, I was just really excited to play with the new team. I was eager, I felt that I was really eager just to play. I just wanted to run and push the ball. It was a gritty win but we have the next game. It was just exciting. I wasn't nervous or anything like that.”
On how Kennedy Basham helped her performance:
“She did everything. She opened up so many opportunities for me. She opened up a lane for me to drive and also just even on defense, she helps me out so much. I can send people to her and she just blocks them. I know that she always has my back. Her finishing always helps me with assists and everything. She did her job today on both ends of the floor, defense and offense, finishing well around the rim, calling for a ceiling. She opened up a lot of lane lines for us. So it was good.”
On playing with Jalyn Brown:
“Playing with somebody like Jalyn, like you said, she got in foul trouble early. I think it was hard for her to get in the groove of the game, but she can score at any given time. On top of that, she's a draft pick player. Playing with somebody like that is always gonna make me better. I think that I can get a lot of looks off of her and she can get a lot of looks off of me and you will see it more, but she just kind of caught her fouls early in the game. Even still, she came through with us at the end with the free throws, the stops on defense, the rebounds and things like that. Playing with somebody like that, it’s a good combo.”
On being able to take more three pointers:
“It felt good. I'm used to playing off the ball. I just have to trust my point guard. So Kennedy, I trust her fully. Jyah, I trust her fully. I'm comfortable with them at the ball. I know that they can handle it. They don't really worry too much about pressure. So I feel comfortable with them giving me the ball. I like to play off the ball.”
On what Kennedy Basham did that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet:
“Screen assists. She sets great screens for us and she opens us up a lot and so that's not a stat you see on the sheet but it's things like that that open me up, that opens Jalyn up, that opens a lot of us up when she can do that.”
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Arizona State Head Coach Natasha Adair
Opening statement
“Gritty and gutsy win with this new group. When it was winning time, we got the stops we needed and we made big shots. I just thought it was a good team win. Seeing so many different things from players, I just told them this is a team that's never played together. So we're learning about each other and it's great to learn in a win. Especially in the fourth, I really saw them come together when we talked about winning time in the time out. There were key plays, key stops and key contributions from each one who stepped on the floor. So proud of our effort to find a way to win and finish strong.”
On what she saw from the team in its first game
“We talk about multiple people touching the ball, the ball changing sides and not getting stuck on one side. We went inside and out and it's great when you have a post presence. I think Nevaeh Parkinson and Kennedy Basham really showed that they're hard to guard. You have the game plan against them and then who are you going to leave on the perimeter? We have so much versatility, and it's always good to get those first game jitters and first game butterflies out of their system. Now we're able to go back and watch some film, digest it and get ready for game two.”
On Kennedy Basham’s performance
“Six-seven is six-seven. She had four blocks, but she altered so many other shots. That's just a hard guard for people, they turn around and she's standing there. What she's learned is not to foul. She's learned to block the shot, go get it, go straight up and you have to teach that and work on that. And so I think just each game that she continues to play, she's just gonna get more confident and get more dominant and people are gonna have to game plan against it.”
On making in-game adjustments
“They were really attacking off the dribble and that was something we talked to the team about. So we had to adjust. We couldn't get caught up in what the calls were. We had to adjust defensively and that was the challenge to the team. We have to get stops. You saw us down the stretch, we were able to switch with our guards and keep our big on a certain player. So it was just more about us and how we really needed to hone in on defense. I get on them all the time about getting that stop, and then score and stop. We have a lot of scorers on the team but we know that it starts on defense. And I loved playing against their type of offense because it really tested our disciplines. That's something that we will continue to work on, really guarding the bounce. I also think we had a six-seven and a six-four out there guarding. It was the size difference though too, so that's a different adjustment. You saw us go zone, so just mixing it up and playing with two dominant bigs is something we're gonna continue to have to work at.”
On the importance of the depth at the end of the first half
“You saw it when Jyah LoVett and Makayla Moore came in. There's no drop off when we sub and that's the beauty of our depth. Pretty much everyone's ready. We tell them to be on the edge of your seat. You never know when your name is going to get called and I was really proud of Jyah when she went in and Makayla when she went in. They really turned it up on the defensive end.”
On balancing intensity with not having to sit players due to fouls
“We called a time out and we talked about it at half time. It's easy to get caught up in the emotions of the game and the frustrations of the game. But they also talk to each other. Keeping one another up and having that next play mentality, and it's next woman up as well. So we just really try to prepare for all these situations and then when they arise, we talk about them. But we say we can never argue the calls and we can never get frustrated with that. So we have to hold ourselves accountable and it was just the next play.”
On Tyi Skinner and her importance to the team
“Tyi and I have been together for a long time so what she does doesn't surprise me, but I love that. She talks more about her teammates, how to get her teammates involved and how she makes them better on the floor. So I just think having a dominant player in Tyi, a veteran in Tyi, a leader in Tyi, every team in the country wants that. I just think she makes others around her better, and I'm excited about our team playing together.”
On Jalyn Brown’s performance
“When she got in some foul trouble, it didn't stop her game defensively. I think she was a presence on defense. I think she was still aggressive on offense. But the beauty of it is the hot hand was the hot hand. I love our team because on any given night, everybody's a threat. So tonight it was Tyi and the next game it could be Jalyn.”
On trying to limit Jacksonville State’s three-point attempts
“They average about 25 attempts a game and their percentage isn't high, but they really want to get that off of penetration. Penetration activates the kick out, so for us it was talking about containing those lane lines and making sure we keep them out of the middle. That's where I think we need to continue to work on because we activated them for the kick out. Then playing our two bigs and trying to get out to some of those guards. So we'll go back and look at that, but that doesn't surprise me because they do average it. We want to limit that, but I think it was more about containing the bounce to not activate the three.”
On the importance of rebounding and trying to limit turnovers moving forward
“I want more offensive rebounds but 40 plus was on the board. That is always gonna give us a chance, but I think there are other opportunities. Our guards need to get in the mix, especially when they're long shots and dig out some of those long rebounds. But all five are gonna go to the defensive glass, three are gonna go to the offensive glass and it gives us opportunities. Percentages go up every time you crash the board. So just things for us to work on. When you come out of a game with 43 rebounds, that means we were working hard. But we gotta make sure we take care of the ball. 17 turnovers is too many. I'm just proud of how we finished.”
On the versatility of the guards
“We are so versatile. You saw Tyi at the two, it doesn't matter. Kennedy Fauntleroy I think did a phenomenal job. Jyah LoVett, Jalyn Brown, all of them. If they get in transition, they can bring it. And that's the versatility in our guards. They work on that stuff in practice. So today, we weren't surprised when Tyi was the two. We weren't surprised if Jyah was the one. We weren't surprised if Jalyn was the two. Those are things that we practice because everyone is ball dominant on the perimeter.”
On the fan support for the opening game of the season
“942 Crew, Inferno, everyone was there. So we just want to continue to build that momentum for our fans. They were the sixth woman and man, you heard their energy and you heard just all of their noise and support and their love. I think as we continue to grow and continue to build, this is going to be the hardest place to play, especially in the Big 12.”
On what needs to be improved upon
“We're just going to keep getting better at our defense and keep getting better at our defensive rotations. Right now I just love how hard we played, but we just have to be a little bit more disciplined on the defensive end. We'll play a lot of defense the next couple of days.”
On being back in her first game since the 2022-23 season:
“I'm just happy to be in front of the fans and everybody else supporting us. Like coach said, it was a gritty win, but we always want to put on a show and we always want to show our love back to the people who come out and support us. It was just a great feeling to be in the atmosphere.”
On her emotions after not playing for two years:
“It feels different. Every year I play basketball is really different. I would say that for this first home game, I was just really excited to play with the new team. I was eager, I felt that I was really eager just to play. I just wanted to run and push the ball. It was a gritty win but we have the next game. It was just exciting. I wasn't nervous or anything like that.”
On how Kennedy Basham helped her performance:
“She did everything. She opened up so many opportunities for me. She opened up a lane for me to drive and also just even on defense, she helps me out so much. I can send people to her and she just blocks them. I know that she always has my back. Her finishing always helps me with assists and everything. She did her job today on both ends of the floor, defense and offense, finishing well around the rim, calling for a ceiling. She opened up a lot of lane lines for us. So it was good.”
On playing with Jalyn Brown:
“Playing with somebody like Jalyn, like you said, she got in foul trouble early. I think it was hard for her to get in the groove of the game, but she can score at any given time. On top of that, she's a draft pick player. Playing with somebody like that is always gonna make me better. I think that I can get a lot of looks off of her and she can get a lot of looks off of me and you will see it more, but she just kind of caught her fouls early in the game. Even still, she came through with us at the end with the free throws, the stops on defense, the rebounds and things like that. Playing with somebody like that, it’s a good combo.”
On being able to take more three pointers:
“It felt good. I'm used to playing off the ball. I just have to trust my point guard. So Kennedy, I trust her fully. Jyah, I trust her fully. I'm comfortable with them at the ball. I know that they can handle it. They don't really worry too much about pressure. So I feel comfortable with them giving me the ball. I like to play off the ball.”
On what Kennedy Basham did that doesn’t show up on the stat sheet:
“Screen assists. She sets great screens for us and she opens us up a lot and so that's not a stat you see on the sheet but it's things like that that open me up, that opens Jalyn up, that opens a lot of us up when she can do that.”
------------
Arizona State Head Coach Natasha Adair
Opening statement
“Gritty and gutsy win with this new group. When it was winning time, we got the stops we needed and we made big shots. I just thought it was a good team win. Seeing so many different things from players, I just told them this is a team that's never played together. So we're learning about each other and it's great to learn in a win. Especially in the fourth, I really saw them come together when we talked about winning time in the time out. There were key plays, key stops and key contributions from each one who stepped on the floor. So proud of our effort to find a way to win and finish strong.”
On what she saw from the team in its first game
“We talk about multiple people touching the ball, the ball changing sides and not getting stuck on one side. We went inside and out and it's great when you have a post presence. I think Nevaeh Parkinson and Kennedy Basham really showed that they're hard to guard. You have the game plan against them and then who are you going to leave on the perimeter? We have so much versatility, and it's always good to get those first game jitters and first game butterflies out of their system. Now we're able to go back and watch some film, digest it and get ready for game two.”
On Kennedy Basham’s performance
“Six-seven is six-seven. She had four blocks, but she altered so many other shots. That's just a hard guard for people, they turn around and she's standing there. What she's learned is not to foul. She's learned to block the shot, go get it, go straight up and you have to teach that and work on that. And so I think just each game that she continues to play, she's just gonna get more confident and get more dominant and people are gonna have to game plan against it.”
On making in-game adjustments
“They were really attacking off the dribble and that was something we talked to the team about. So we had to adjust. We couldn't get caught up in what the calls were. We had to adjust defensively and that was the challenge to the team. We have to get stops. You saw us down the stretch, we were able to switch with our guards and keep our big on a certain player. So it was just more about us and how we really needed to hone in on defense. I get on them all the time about getting that stop, and then score and stop. We have a lot of scorers on the team but we know that it starts on defense. And I loved playing against their type of offense because it really tested our disciplines. That's something that we will continue to work on, really guarding the bounce. I also think we had a six-seven and a six-four out there guarding. It was the size difference though too, so that's a different adjustment. You saw us go zone, so just mixing it up and playing with two dominant bigs is something we're gonna continue to have to work at.”
On the importance of the depth at the end of the first half
“You saw it when Jyah LoVett and Makayla Moore came in. There's no drop off when we sub and that's the beauty of our depth. Pretty much everyone's ready. We tell them to be on the edge of your seat. You never know when your name is going to get called and I was really proud of Jyah when she went in and Makayla when she went in. They really turned it up on the defensive end.”
On balancing intensity with not having to sit players due to fouls
“We called a time out and we talked about it at half time. It's easy to get caught up in the emotions of the game and the frustrations of the game. But they also talk to each other. Keeping one another up and having that next play mentality, and it's next woman up as well. So we just really try to prepare for all these situations and then when they arise, we talk about them. But we say we can never argue the calls and we can never get frustrated with that. So we have to hold ourselves accountable and it was just the next play.”
On Tyi Skinner and her importance to the team
“Tyi and I have been together for a long time so what she does doesn't surprise me, but I love that. She talks more about her teammates, how to get her teammates involved and how she makes them better on the floor. So I just think having a dominant player in Tyi, a veteran in Tyi, a leader in Tyi, every team in the country wants that. I just think she makes others around her better, and I'm excited about our team playing together.”
On Jalyn Brown’s performance
“When she got in some foul trouble, it didn't stop her game defensively. I think she was a presence on defense. I think she was still aggressive on offense. But the beauty of it is the hot hand was the hot hand. I love our team because on any given night, everybody's a threat. So tonight it was Tyi and the next game it could be Jalyn.”
On trying to limit Jacksonville State’s three-point attempts
“They average about 25 attempts a game and their percentage isn't high, but they really want to get that off of penetration. Penetration activates the kick out, so for us it was talking about containing those lane lines and making sure we keep them out of the middle. That's where I think we need to continue to work on because we activated them for the kick out. Then playing our two bigs and trying to get out to some of those guards. So we'll go back and look at that, but that doesn't surprise me because they do average it. We want to limit that, but I think it was more about containing the bounce to not activate the three.”
On the importance of rebounding and trying to limit turnovers moving forward
“I want more offensive rebounds but 40 plus was on the board. That is always gonna give us a chance, but I think there are other opportunities. Our guards need to get in the mix, especially when they're long shots and dig out some of those long rebounds. But all five are gonna go to the defensive glass, three are gonna go to the offensive glass and it gives us opportunities. Percentages go up every time you crash the board. So just things for us to work on. When you come out of a game with 43 rebounds, that means we were working hard. But we gotta make sure we take care of the ball. 17 turnovers is too many. I'm just proud of how we finished.”
On the versatility of the guards
“We are so versatile. You saw Tyi at the two, it doesn't matter. Kennedy Fauntleroy I think did a phenomenal job. Jyah LoVett, Jalyn Brown, all of them. If they get in transition, they can bring it. And that's the versatility in our guards. They work on that stuff in practice. So today, we weren't surprised when Tyi was the two. We weren't surprised if Jyah was the one. We weren't surprised if Jalyn was the two. Those are things that we practice because everyone is ball dominant on the perimeter.”
On the fan support for the opening game of the season
“942 Crew, Inferno, everyone was there. So we just want to continue to build that momentum for our fans. They were the sixth woman and man, you heard their energy and you heard just all of their noise and support and their love. I think as we continue to grow and continue to build, this is going to be the hardest place to play, especially in the Big 12.”
On what needs to be improved upon
“We're just going to keep getting better at our defense and keep getting better at our defensive rotations. Right now I just love how hard we played, but we just have to be a little bit more disciplined on the defensive end. We'll play a lot of defense the next couple of days.”