Oregon had its starting point guard ready for Saturday. Arizona State did not.
In a game with 37 combined turnovers and a one-point margin of victory, the loss of Tenaya Watson was magnified for the Sun Devils. Watson, a junior transfer from Central Arizona Junior College, has started 21 games and leads ASU in assists. A sprained foot, however, took her out of the Oregon series.
“I’m proud of our team. We’re really young. We’ve got a lot of new players,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “We’re playing tough on the road. We’re doing a lot of good things.
“But we are without our starting point guard. She’s at home. That kind of hurts you when you’re being pressed.”
One aspect of the game where Watson’s presence was missed was in press-breaking. Initially, the Sun Devils threw over the top of the Ducks at will, leading 8-0 at the start of the game. Oregon head coach Paul Westhead made an adjustment, putting the player guarding the inbounds passer — either Victoria Kenyon or Nicole Canepa — at half-court. The Ducks forced more passes in the backcourt, which led to several of the Sun Devils’ 21 turnovers.
“In our last game that we played them, they had 29 turnovers, so we knew that this press could really rattle them,” Oregon guard Taylor Lilley said. “So we really just tried to get in their face a little bit more.”
Once Arizona State got the ball beyond half-court, the offensive execution was fundamentally sound. The Sun Devils shot 64.6 percent from the field, a season best, making 31 of their 48 field goals. Only seven of those came from beyond the three-point line, and ASU made four. Fifteen of the 31 made field goals were assisted, and 36 points came in the paint.
However, Arizona State was limited to just 27 rebounds (seven offensive) and struggled to get long defensive rebounds off Duck misses.
“I think that was the hardest thing to swallow,” Turner Thorne said. “We worked hard on defense (and) made them miss, and then did not get the rebound. For us, that was brutal.
“On the long rebounds, you’re stepping in, going to your player and claiming space. We know this, but we didn’t do it.”
The Sun Devils’ streak of 10 consecutive wins over the Ducks was snapped on Saturday.
“It feels really good to beat them,” said Oregon senior guard Micaela Cocks. “I haven’t even beaten them before, but if I could choose one team to beat, it would be ASU, so I’m really glad. I don’t know, there’s something about them. I’m so glad we beat them.”
Considered a possible NCAA tournament team at the beginning of the season, Arizona State now finds itself in sixth place in the Pacific-10 Conference, one of four teams with seven conference wins (including Oregon). A postseason appearance of any kind hinges on whether or not the Sun Devils can separate themselves from the pack over the remainder of the season.
“We have to go back home and get some wins,” Turner Thorne said.
Kasperski named honorary captain

Former Oregon forward Stefanie Kasperski was honored prior to tip-off Saturday as the latest honorary captain for the women’s basketball team.
Kasperski ranks third in Duck women’s basketball history in both points and rebounds and second in blocked shots, averaging 3.4 per game. Her 49-career double-doubles ranks third in Oregon history, behind Alison Lang and Bev Smith.
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