Arizona State women's basketball staying motivated ahead of Pac-12 Tournament

Jenna Ortiz, Arizona Republic

March 1, 2022 at 4:45 PM·4 min read

ASU head coach Charlie Turner Thorne and the ASU bench celebrate a score against Oregon State at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe, Ariz. on Friday, Feb. 4, 2022.

With the upcoming Pac-12 women’s basketball tournament beginning on Wednesday, Arizona State women’s basketball head coach Charli Turner Thorne is reminding her team that winning the tournament isn’t out of reach, no matter the record.

Turner Thorne has even gone back to compare her team to when fifth-seeded USC, a bubble team, found its footing in the 2014 Pac-12 Tournament and defied the odds to win the title.

“The record didn’t really indicate how good they were, but stuff happened and it took them time and they came together and gelled. We’ll see,” Turner Thorne said.

No. 9 ASU (12-13, 4-9 Pac-12) will head into familiar territory on Wednesday when it faces No. 8 Oregon State (13-12, 6-9 Pac-12) in Las Vegas. The matchup will start at 3:30 p.m. MT.

Even though ASU finished its conference play filled with highs and lows with a five-game losing streak, the Sun Devils are eager for a fresh start.

It’s also a chance to return back to one of the high points in the season when ASU defeated Oregon State 67-57 in Tempe on Feb. 4. The Sun Devils kept a close game with the Beavers until two technical fouls and a personal foul on Oregon State in the final 31 seconds developed into a 10-point lead for ASU. The win snapped a three-game losing skid for ASU.

“It’s a brand-new season. We talked about that earlier. We are starting all over and it doesn’t matter what has happened up until now. We can make a run in the tournament and it’s going to be a lot of fun,” guard Jade Loville said. “There’s a lot of excitement that we’re playing Oregon State. We beat them last time and we still got to lock in and do the little things that we didn’t do last time.”

The Beavers have counted on the stellar play of guard Talia von Oelhoffen all season. The freshman was recently named to the All-Pac-12 team and averaged 14.6 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in a stretch of five-straight games against ranked opponents from Feb. 6-18. Oregon State hit its struggles in the last three games of the season, only taking one of three. In that stretch, von Oelhoffen averaged 7.7 points per game.

ASU has battled injuries in the last four games with the forwards group working with only three available players: Mael Gilles, Katelyn Levings, and Imogen Greenslade. The guards have also logged more minutes on the floor, but returned sixth-player Gabriela Bosquez Saturday against UCLA. Turner Thorne still remains hopeful that Isadora Sousa will return from an injury that kept her sidelined since Dec. 12. Sousa warmed up with the team ahead of the game against UCLA, making progress in her recovery.

But even with a smaller roster, ASU saw improvement from its starting five. Guard Jaddan Simmons had the best stretch of her season in the last five games, averaging 14 points. In an elevated role following Jayde Van Hyfte’s injury, Levings scored a career-high 14 points at Washington on Feb. 20.

“We’re obviously better than our record, we’ve just had some critical injuries down the stretch and haven’t finished games the way we normally do. It’s been frustrating and we know it’s hard, but we know we beat some of the top teams in the country. We know if we do the things we need to do, we’re right there,” Turner Thorne said.

ASU and Oregon State have met in the Pac-12 Tournament three times, with the Sun Devils winning all three of those contests.

How to watch: Pac-12 Women's Basketball Tournament bracket, schedule and TV info

Loville, Gilles earn Pac-12 honors

Loville and Gilles both received recognition from the Pac-12 on Tuesday when the conference announced its annual awards.

Loville, a transfer guard from Boise State, was named to the All-Pac-12 Team. Loville finished third in the league in scoring with 16.7 points per game, while leading in scoring in conference games with 18.4 points per game.

Gilles received an honorable mention for Pac-12 All-Defense. The graduate transfer from Rutgers finished in the top 10 in the conference in rebounding (7.78), steals (1.83), offensive rebounds (2.61), defensive rebounds (5.17), and blocks (1.22).

Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com or 602-647-4122. Follow her on Twitter @jennarortiz.

Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Preview: ASU women's basketball vs. Oregon State in Pac-12 Tournament

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Loville, Gilles earn Pac-12 honors

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