ASU women’s basketball (12-9, 4-4 Pac-12) fought hard Sunday against No. 6 Arizona (18-4, 8-4 Pac-12) but did not have enough offense late to complete the sweep of the Wildcats, falling 62-58 in front of nearly 9,000 fans in Tucson.
The Sun Devils came out with the same offensive firepower they had Sunday, shooting 13-22 (59.1 percent) from the field in the first half. Both teams traded blows throughout the first two periods and were tied at 36 heading to the locker room.
ASU was exceptional to open the second half. The Sun Devils were 3-4 from the field over the first 4:29 of the third quarter and held Arizona to 2-8 shooting over that span. ASU led 46-40, forcing Arizona to call a timeout.
Whatever Arizona head coach Adia Barnes said during the timeout must have sparked a fire in her group as the Wildcats outscored ASU 11-3 the remainder of the third quarter to lead 51-49 heading to the fourth.
Arizona kept the lead the majority of the fourth quarter until ASU forward Mael Gilles tied the game at 57 with 1:33 left. On the other end, Arizona’s Koi Love made a layup which eventually was the game-winning shot.
An offensive rebound by the Wildcats’ Bendu Yeaney with 0:30 left and her team up 60-57 gave the ball back to Arizona. ASU had to foul to stop the clock. The Wildcats were not quite in the bonus so ASU had to try to force a turnover or keep fouling to send Arizona to the free-throw line. ASU forward Katelyn Levings stole the ball away but Jaddan Simmons gave it right back to the Wildcats with 0:23 on the clock. ASU fouled twice to put Arizona in the bonus. Arizona’s Shaina Pellington made one of her two attempts and Gilles pulled down the rebound following the missed second free throw. Gilles’ rebound gave ASU the ball down 61-57 with 0:22 on the clock. However, she threw a pass out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Wildcats with 0:16 on the clock. The Sun Devils were unable to pull off the miracle, eventually losing by four points.
The late turnovers were not the only issue offensively for the Sun Devils in the fourth quarter. ASU was 4-12 (33.3 percent) from the field and forward Jade Loville’s missed wide-open layup with 4:19 left proved to be costly.
Despite the loss, ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne was mostly pleased with the way her team played.
“Most of your starters struggling and you’re one possession away on the road against the sixth-ranked team in the country,” Turner Thorne told the Sun Devil Radio Network. “I’m encouraged by that. I’m encouraged that it’s like wow, we were maybe at 50 percent of what we can be.”
A difference in the game compared to ASU’s upset win over the Wildcats Friday was the rebounding margin and the Sun Devils’ free-throw percentage. On Friday, ASU dominated on the boards, winning the rebounding battle 42-27. On Sunday, the Sun Devils lost the rebounding battle 27-22. On Friday, ASU was 31-34 (91.2 percent) from the foul line. On Sunday, the Sun Devils were just 11-18 (61.1 percent) from the charity stripe.
“The biggest thing that stood out to me is rebounding,” Turner Thorne stated. “When we control the boards, we win.”
ASU travels to Cal for its next matchup for a rescheduled game. The matchup is set to tip-off Wednesday at 2 p.m. MST.
