"We recruited her for a reason," ASU head women's basketball coach Molly Miller said.
ASU's energy and hustle in their 84-41 win over Jackson State may be nothing out of the ordinary for Miller's roster, but one newcomer brought a new twist to the Sun Devils game plan: the three-point shooting of true freshman Averie Lower.
"My shot is good,: Lower said. "So I just have to trust myself, and it'll go in."
Lower got the start in her first-ever collegiate game, finishing with 15 points and five threes, tied for the top scorer in the ballgame.
It didn't come without the butterflies, however, as Lower missed her first few attempts from distance in the first half.
"Shooters are gonna shoot," Miller said about Lower. "I'm gonna encourage her to shoot. What's great about Averie is she missed the first three, I believe, but she's got that shooter's next-shot mentality. And I've always told her, I don't care how many you miss in a row. If it's three in a row, I think the fourth is going in."
The fourth one did fall, and so did the fifth. Eventually, Lower got comfortable in front of the Desert Financial Arena crowd, and the rest was history.
To put it in perspective, ASU only had two players make five threes in a game last season, both being seniors. Having a freshman do it in the first game of the year? Not too shabby.
Lower's productive shooting, on top of the Devils' dominance inside the paint, helped ASU score 84 points. The fifth highest point total the Sun Devils have put together in the last five seasons.
ASU's biggest headline entering the season was its increased guard depth, with one of the top transfer classes in the country. However, it may be a freshman who will make the biggest difference.
Out of North Liberty, Iowa, just 100 miles east of the home of Caitlin Clark, Lower honed her skills in the land of corn and three-point shooting.
"My mom, growing up, shot with me every single day," Lower said. "I was on a club team that shot 24/7, so that's where my shot comes from."
So, does Tempe now have its own Caitlin Clark? Let's not go to extremes, but expect Lower to bring a similar style to the desert with her shooting ability.
"What's typical when you go from high school to college is that the game speeds up, and so your shot trigger speeds up," Miller said. "She's got a quick trigger from the get-go, so she's able to transition from high school to college pretty easily with that quick release."
The freshman and the rest of the Sun Devils will return to the court on Thursday, Nov. 5, for a home meeting against Northern Arizona.
This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/arizonastate as True Freshman Breakout Gives Molly Miller's Team a New Weapon For 2026 Season .
