It was an abysmal offensive performance from the Arizona State women’s basketball team on Friday night in Tempe as the Sun Devils (9-7, 4-7 Pac-12) dropped their fourth-straight conference matchup, this time to lowly Washington (5-10, 2-10 Pac-12).
ASU struggled shooting for most of its 50-35 loss Friday. The Sun Devils were 12-58 (20.7 percent) from the field, 3-24 (12.5 percent) from 3-point territory and 8-16 (50 percent) from the foul line.
The ASU offense struggled with ball movement and making easy, wide-open shots. The team dominated Washington on the offensive glass, finishing the game with a 26-16 offensive rebounding advantage. However, the Huskies had 14 second-chance points to the Sun Devils’ nine.
ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne credited the loss to missed shots.
“Just a really disappointing game,” Turner Thorne said. “We just couldn’t make shots. … We were wide open, and we couldn’t hit shots.”
The game started out about as bad as it possibly could for ASU. The Sun Devils scored two points in the first quarter on 1-17 shooting and 14 overall for the half. However, they trailed just 20-14 at the half. This was due to their tenacious defense and offensive rebounding that kept the ball out of the Huskies’ hands.
Early in the third period, it appeared ASU was going to turn the game around. A Taya Hanson 3-pointer cut the Washington lead to just one with 8:37 to go in the frame. The first half struggles seemed to be left in the locker room, but the Huskies outscored ASU 11-5 the rest of the quarter and led 34-27 heading to the final frame.
In the fourth, ASU again struggled from the field. The Sun Devils shot just 3-11 and did not have enough offense to continue to hang around with the Huskies.
“Maybe we were feeling some pressure just to take this dub today,” Hanson said. “Because we were a little hard on our shots. We know we’re good shooters, and so we’re going to get in the gym more and be confident to hit those shots … .”
Slow starts and poor offensive performances have plagued the Sun Devils as of late. ASU forward Katelyn Levings attributed the issues offensively to not being able to translate what the team does in practice to the games.
However, Turner Thorne said it is not just games where the team needs to be better offensively. She stated that the team needs to be better on offense in practice and put in more time in the gym, translating to success in games.
“In game situations, we need to shoot better in practice,” Turner Thorne explained. “Our normal teams shoot higher in practice than in games. It always goes down for games. Your practice percentage is always a lot higher, and sometimes we’re in the 30s in practice. We’re just not there in terms of making shots. And in all my years of coaching, there is one answer to that. … You’re not making shots? Get in the gym.”
ASU will see if it improves offensively on Sunday against a surprisingly-solid Washington State team. The Cougars defeated current No. 10 Arizona 71-69 on Jan. 10 and current No. 8 UCLA 67-63 on Feb. 5. Sunday’s matchup is an early tip at 12:30 p.m. MST at Desert Financial Arena in Tempe.
