To put it kindly, Arizona State women's basketball left itself with a lot of room for improvement in its season opener Wednesday.
ASU won 56-47 over Stephen F. Austin at Desert Financial Arena but needed a late 10-0 run to finally open some breathing room against the Southland Conference preseason favorite, a 23-win team last season.
"We've got to give ourselves some grace," ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said of a team with returners playing advanced roles and seven new players. "I was worried about the challenge defensively. Reili Richardson and Kiara Russell have been running this team the last four years.