Arizona State allowes 15 Arizona 3-pointers in Senior Day loss

(Photo credit: Sierra Watson/WCSN)

TEMPE – Arizona State women’s basketball was neck and neck with rival Arizona as the second quarter neared its end Saturday. The two teams were tied and looking for an opportunity to pull ahead.

The Wildcats broke the tie with just under two minutes to go before halftime after a defensive rebound from freshman guard Lauryn Swann led to a three from senior forward Isis Beh. On the next possession, the Sun Devils allowed a very similar play to happen. This time, it was a Beh rebound that led to a Swann three.

Arizona held the lead, but it was still a close game, and the Wildcats were searching for a dagger to secure the momentum entering halftime. Arizona State had to lock down on defense to stop that from happening.

With the seconds winding down to zero, Swann heaved a three from the deep right wing. Despite being fouled on the play by 6-foot-7 junior forward Kennedy Basham, Swann’s shot sunk through the net, sending her teammates and the hundreds of Arizona fans that made the trip to Tempe into a frenzy.

Arizona (19-12, 10-8 Big 12) carried the momentum through to the third quarter and spoiled Arizona State’s (9-21, 3-15 Big 12) Senior Day at Desert Financial Arena, winning 71-59. Natasha Adair’s team just couldn’t stop the Wildcats from raining threes. Arizona put on a sharpshooting clinic, hitting a season-high 15 threes on 28 attempts, recording a better percentage on shots outside the arc than on shots inside.

“We didn’t switch up getting over the ball screen,” Adair said. “I thought they made some tough threes with a hand in their face. I just think our rotations were a little late and we didn’t get over the ball screen and up.”

Swann was lethal from deep, torching the Arizona State defense, with all her team-best 18 points coming off six 3-pointers. Four other Wildcats hit threes, and each one hit at least two.

Arizona State’s leading scorer from beyond the arc, graduate guard Tyi Skinner, hit just two 3-pointers. Senior guard Adison Novosel was the only other Sun Devil to hit a shot from beyond the arc.

Part of what led to the huge discrepancy in 3-pointers between the two teams was the absence of junior guard Makayla Moore, who is out with a concussion. Moore only became a starter after injuries to fellow guards, graduate Jazion Jackson and junior Kennedy Fauntleroy. Since receiving more playing time and the opportunity to start, Moore has established herself as one of the best defenders on the team, as well as one of the best shooters.

Moore’s injury is just the latest in a long line that’s plaguing Arizona State.

“With (Moore’s) concussion, (Jackson’s) shoulder, (graduate forward Maggie Besselink’s) knee, Fauntleroy’s hand, even (sophomore guard) Jyah LoVett, I’ve got to give her a lot of credit because she pushed through on an ankle. She was kind of on one foot and Kennedy Basham on a broken finger, we are the wounded warriors,” Adair said. “But again, this time of year you fight, whoever’s ready let’s go, there’s no feel sorry, no hang your head.”

With a depleted roster, players have to step up, including players who are already seniors and established starters. During pregame, graduate center Nevaeh Parkinson was honored alongside Skinner, Novosel, Jackson and forward Hanna Miller as part of Senior Day. For all of these players, it was potentially the last time any of them played at DFA. For Parkinson, it was also a day that will go into the record books.

Parkinson grabbed eight offensive rebounds and 11 defensive rebounds for a total of 19, the most a Sun Devil has had in the 21st century. Her efforts kept Arizona State as close as it was to Arizona and won ASU the offensive and total rebound battles, areas that the team has had issues with at points throughout the season. However, she wasn’t satisfied with just putting up a good stat line on Senior Day.

“It sucks we didn’t win,” Parkinson said. “I don’t personally think (the 19 rebounds) matters because we didn’t win, I don’t really think about it like that. I was just thankful that my family got to see (it).”

Senior Day marks the end of the regular season, and the upcoming Wednesday marks the start of the Phillips 66 Big 12 Women’s Basketball Championship in Kansas City, Missouri, which will feature all 16 teams in a single-elimination tournament seeded by the conference standings. At 3-15 and down multiple players, Arizona State has its work cut out for it to shock the masses.

What’s working in the Sun Devils’ favor is that they know the areas in which they need to improve. The veteran team can learn from moments in this game and try to attack similar situations differently in the tournament.

“There were just some possessions that gave them momentum and it was hard to come back from it,” Skinner said. “Just rebound, kick-outs, the loose ball, some layups we might have missed close to the rim, and then (Arizona) got it and pushed in the transition, we make those plays and make those possessions and we’re up and we’re talking a different game. We’re looking to clean that up as we move to (the) tournament.”

Losing at home to Arizona to fall in both Territorial Cup games this year marked the end of a disappointing regular season for Arizona State. It’s the third straight year of conference play where Adair’s teams have struggled mightily in conference play, which doesn’t bode well for the tournament. Adair knows the season wasn’t good enough, but she’s still optimistic about what Kansas City could bring.

“Pack for five days,” Adair said. “It’s one game at a time, but I think we draw from this whole season about how close we’ve been and close isn’t good enough, we want to finish. Anything happens in March, it’s March Madness.”