ASU women's basketball started the season strong in front of their fans in Tempe on Monday. More notably, a player returned to the court with renewed determination.
Graduate guard Tyi Skinner scored her seventh and final point of the fourth quarter on a difficult, contested layup from the right block, and she hit the deck hard. With ASU up by four points and just over a minute to play, it was a two-score game, and much harder for the Jacksonville State Gamecocks to get back into it.
Skinner found herself just a minute away from leading her team to victory in this season's home opener, following a brutal knee injury in the 2023-2024 offseason that forced her to miss all of last season.
Numerous Jacksonville State three-point attempts didn't fall and ASU hit six free throws in the fourth quarter to ice their first contest of the young year.
"It feels great," Skinner said. "I'm just happy to be in front of the fans and everybody's out here supporting us. And like coach (Natasha Adair) said, it was a gritty win, but we always want to put on the show, and we always want to show love back to people who come out to support us."
The final tally for Skinner was 30 points, five rebounds, and five assists, and the Sun Devils took it home 74-66. The 30 points are a career-high for Skinner, who shot 76% from the field and an astonishing 83% from deep. Even crazier, coming off an injured season, Skinner nearly played every dribble.
READ MORE: ASU women's basketball heads into Big 12 with reloaded roster
Skinner wasn't the only contributor for the Sun Devils with junior forward Kennedy Basham celebrating her return to the Valley by putting up eight points, 10 rebounds and four blocks. Not only did Basham put up these impressive numbers, but her impact was also felt in the intangibles.
"She's learned to block the shot, go get it, go straight up," head coach Natasha Adair said. "And you have to teach that and work on that. So I think just each game that she continues to play, she's just going to get more confident and get more dominant, and people are going to have to game plan against that."
Basham did that while struggling in foul trouble and only playing 26 minutes. Being back home, fans brought in posters that featured Basham's name and pictures.
"It's great to be home, 30 minutes away, close to my family," Basham said. "My family and friends get to come to the games, which is super exciting. Even just the area, everything, the girls here, my coaching staff — so it's nice being home, but there are also other things that play a part in me being here."
It was a storybook night for ASU with Basham's quality debut and Skinner's return for a group that needed the offensive punch they lacked last season.
"We're just going to keep getting better at our defense and our defensive rotations," Adair said. "But right now, I just loved how hard we played, but we just have to be a little bit more disciplined on the defensive end."
The Sun Devils will have multiple days to refine their craft and prepare for their next opponent, the Arkansas State Red Wolves, who will travel to Tempe to play at 3 p.m. on Friday.
Edited by Henry Smardo, Sophia Braccio and Madeline Schmitke.
Reach the reporters at aabdeen3@asu.edu and mseal6@asu.edu and follow @ayabdeen and @masonseal23 on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Aya is a senior studying sports journalism with a minor in communication. This is her third semester with The State Press. She has also worked at The Next, Cronkite News and Blaze Radio.
Mason is a freshman studying sports journalism. This is his first semester with The State Press. He has also worked for Inferno Intel and WCSN.
