The energy was palpable inside Desert Financial Arena for Arizona State women's basketball season opener vs. Jackson State.

Yes, the crowd was into it, but the main source came from the Sun Devils and Tigers. (Emphasis on the Sun Devils).

Some fans who are new to Molly Miller's program may of been caught off guard by the style of play in the 84-41 ASU victory. For the second-year head coach, everything went according to plan.

....Even with a 11-2 start for Jackson State.

"That's something that-we all know that have been around the block or two-we know it's gonna be a little bit tight there. First time in front of the crowd, the nerves were there. But I think once we settled in, we did a better job." Miller said.

ASU's energetic style was the key to punching back against the fast Tigers start, including key plays from F McKenna Brackens.

The no-fear style continued to be pivotal when perimeter shooting went south for both teams, going 2-for-13 from three in the first half.

Instead of triples, the Sun Devils contributed tie-ups, jump balls and hustle plays.

"We wanted to be the aggressor," Miller said. "I think that's where we had some lapses here in the preseason, where we were hoping the rebound would come to us. I want them to be aggressive rebounding. I want them to rebound out of their area. I want to scrap and fight and claw. I always say every 50-50 ball is 100% ours. So if there's a ball bouncing on the ground, we're gonna go get it.
We're gonna come up with it. So I think that aggressiveness showed up tonight."

The scraping and clawing came from Brackens and fellow forward Heloisa Carrera, who finished with 15 points, including 10 of ASU's 15 first-quarter points.

Jackson State did a decent job at taking out the guards, including highly-touted transfer Ruby Whitehorn, so the Devils turned the paint into their playground.

ASU outrebounded JSU 51-29, scoring 38 points in the paint compared to the Tigers' 12. The main difference maker in a game where both teams combined 16-for-51 from three.

After first half dominance in the paint, it freed up ASU's guards in the second half. Whitehorn entered the conversation with eight points, on top of six big-time assists as the main ballhandler for Molly Miller.

Freshman guard Averie Lower would get going as well, depositing five threes after starting the game cold from distance.

So whether it was making up for a lack of shooting, paving the way in the paint or having it all click later in the game, Molly Miller's preseason messaging proves to be true (at least through one game): Energy is Everything.

And unlike last year, the talent is here to back up the aforementioned energy, according to Miller.

"I think there was kind of the antithesis of last year was we had to work really, really, really, really hard. And I'm not sure we were the most talented team. This year, we're pretty talented, but we can't let our edge suffer because of that. So I want to see hard work day in and day out, a competitive edge, a relentlessness to this team. We can't always rely on our talent. So that's kind of a tale of two teams, a little bit. You can win both ways."

The energy and talent will return to the court on Thursday, when ASU takes on Northern Arizona.

Devil Details:

G Ruby Whitehorn: 8 PTs, 6 ASTs, 3 REBs

G Rashunda Jones: 10 PTs, 6 ASTs

G Averie Lower: 15 PTs (5 Threes), 5 REBs

F McKinna Brackens: 14 PTs, 8 REBs