After going to a tournament in Las Vegas over Thanksgiving weekend and doing the equivalent of losing all their chips against Maryland, the Arizona State Sun Devils had a bit of an awakening.
Getting beaten by a team as good as the Terps is no shame, but by 41 points? That 83-42 loss came after a 75-63 defeat at Marquette, and the Sun Devils -- who were Pac-12 co-champions with Oregon State last season -- were off on the wrong foot.
There were reasons, of course. None bigger than the fact the Sun Devils lost three senior starters at guard from last season's 26-7 team. Elisha Davis, Arnecia Hawkins and Katie Hempen accounted for 41.7 percent of Arizona State's scoring and 63.4 percent of its assists in 2015-16 -- plus a huge amount of its "voice" and leadership.
"We didn't know how to play hard yet," coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "I knew it was going to take some time; you sort of have to let them experience some things. But I am so impressed with how quickly we figured it out."
Indeed, it didn't take as long as she thought. Because there were returning seniors in forwards Sophie Brunner, forward/guard Kelsey Moos and center Quinn Dornstauder. They had to play a big role in getting the team's young guards up to speed.
"After the Maryland game it was an aha moment for the older kids: 'You have to talk to [the younger ones], and bring a sense of urgency and show them how hard they have to play.' And they have done it ever since."
The 13-4 Sun Devils' only subsequent losses have been to Stanford -- with an ending that Turner Thorne is still a bit irritated about -- and to the Plum-Osahor Express, aka Washington.
The Sun Devils have two tough weekends on the road coming up: This Friday and Sunday at Cal and Stanford, and the following Friday and Sunday at UCLA and USC. Arizona State also doesn't have Moos now -- she injured her foot in a double-overtime home victory over Cal on New Year's Day -- and it's uncertain when she'll return.
Moos is still the team's natural leader. She played at the forward spot most of her career, but Turner Thorne moved her to the perimeter this year just to give Arizona State a little more experience there.
She is expected back at some point, and Turner Thorne is trying to look at her absence from the bright side.
"These young kids are going to keep improving while she's out," Turner Thorne said. "And if we can get her fully healthy -- wow.
"Last year's team, as great as they were, we were kind of exhausted at the end of the year. It's looking good for us to maybe be peaking at the right time."
Turner Thorne was the Pac-12 coach of the year last season, and the Sun Devils were the No. 2 seed in the Sioux Falls Region. But they lost in the second round at home to No. 7 seed Tennessee. Arizona State also had lost its regular-season finale at UCLA and its first game of the Pac-12 tournament to Cal.
So taking more of a head of steam into the postseason is a goal for the Sun Devils this year; right now, they project as a No. 4 seed in Charlie Creme's Bracketology.
Brunner is doing her thing, leading Arizona State in scoring (12.5 PPG) and rebounding (7.7 RPG) while shooting a team-best 53.4 percent from the field.
"Mentoring the younger kids has been easier than I thought because of how open they are to learning and how eager they are," Brunner said. "We really get on each other as seniors to talk to them, so they know what's going on."
Some of them have played enough already that they have a good idea. Reili Richardson, a 5-foot-11 guard out of Brea, California, and 5-9 Robbi Ryan of Sheridan, Wyoming, are getting the most minutes of the freshmen. Richardson is the team's second-leading scorer (9.7 PPG) and leads the team with 71 assists. Ryan averages 7.6 points.
Another rookie guard, 5-8 Kiara Russell from Minneapolis, probably picked up on Turner Thorne's defense the quickest. She missed some time with injury, but she's back.
Sophomores Sabrina Haines, who's starting at guard, and Kianna Ibis, coming off the bench at forward, are important parts for the Sun Devils as well.
"Last year's team, as great as they were, we were kind of exhausted at the end of the year. It's looking good for us to maybe be peaking at the right time." Arizona State coach Charli Turner Thorne
In a Pac-12 that is this tight and competitive -- Arizona State stands fifth at 4-2 right now behind Washington, Oregon State, Stanford, and UCLA -- every game provides intrigue.
Arizona State is coming off a 65-54 loss to Washington on Sunday, in which the Huskies' Kelsey Plum had 34 points, and Chantel Osahor 10 points, 20 rebounds and six assists. Richardson had 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists in that game for Arizona State.
This weekend, the Sun Devils visit a Cal team that it took two OTs to beat, 72-62. And Arizona State will try to avenge a 64-57 loss to Stanford. In that game, the Sun Devils trailed by just two points with 19 seconds left, but Dornstauder was called for a foul on Stanford's Erica McCall shooting a 3-pointer. She hit all three free throws, and Stanford's Karlie Samuelson subsequently hit two more for the final margin.
The Sun Devils will have to face Cal and Stanford without Moos this time, but Turner Thorne said the senior is still motivating the team.
"Everybody is stepping up because of her," Turner Thorne said. "We're not going to let up, because we owe that to her to position ourselves for a good March. I think the whole team feels that way."
Turner Thorne expects it to be a difficult road the rest of the way for all teams in the Pac-12. In her 20th season at Arizona State, she's pleased that conference play is so challenging.
"I feel like administrations care, collectively across the board in the Pac-12 now, about women's basketball," she said. "It's putting us in the position we're in."