The Arizona State Sun Devils (1-0) opened the season Monday with an 84-41 win over the Jackson State Tigers at Desert Financial Arena, and the number coach Molly Miller kept coming back to was 26 assists on 12 turnovers.
It did not start clean. Jackson State led 11-2 early, and the nerves showed in the first quarter before the Sun Devils settled in, took the game over in the paint and led 34-21 at halftime.
“The nerves were there, and I think that’s where our lapse was,” Miller said. “But really proud — they never tucked their tails. Probably the proudest statistic here is 26 assists on 12 turnovers. That’s a bright spot for me. They’re sharing the basketball, they’re unselfish.”
Heloisa Carrera and McKinna Brackens did the work inside. Carrera finished with 15 points on 7-of-9 shooting and nine rebounds, and Brackens added 14 points and eight rebounds. “We had to lock in and do our job,” Carrera said. “Our main thing is to dominate in the paint, so me and McKinna being able to do that is going to help the team.”
Freshman Averie Lower scored 15 points, all five of her field goals from three, after missing early. “Shooters are going to shoot,” Miller said. “She’s got that shooter’s next-shot mentality. I don’t care how many you miss in a row — if it’s three in a row, I think the fourth’s going in.”
Lower said the confidence comes from the work. “My mom, growing up, would shoot with me every single day,” she said. “I was on a club team that shot 24/7 — that’s where my shot comes from.”
Miller also got the defensive night she asked for, holding Jackson State to single-digit quarters over the final three periods. “Every 50/50 ball is 100% ours,” she said. “If there’s a ball bouncing on the ground, we’re going to go get it.”
The Sun Devils are home again Thursday against Northern Arizona at 6:30 p.m. .
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.