ASU Women’s Basketball: Despite improvements, Sun Devils unable to overcome No. 21 Colorado

(Photo via Sam Volante/WCSN)

Arizona State Women’s Basketball continued its search for its first win in Pac-12 Conference play Friday morning in Desert Financial Arena. Optimistic fans filled the stands, hopeful for an upset against No. 21 Colorado, and they almost got their wish.

With just three minutes left in the game, graduate center Kayla Mokwuah made a layup to cut Colorado’s lead to 2 points, and the crowd erupted. However, unable to get a stop on the defensive end, the Sun Devils allowed the Buffaloes to go on an 8-0 run that ended in an and-one layup from sophomore center Aaronette Vonleh, icing the game with a minute left.

In one of their most comprehensive games of the season, the Sun Devils (7-17, 0-15 Pac-12) kept the score close up until the end. Unfortunately for them, they could not put the pieces together to knock off the ranked Buffs, as Colorado (21-5, 12-3) escaped in the fourth quarter with a 70-62 win.

Even though her team suffered its 15th straight loss, head coach Natasha Adair continued to show support for her team.

“Again, another just gutty effort by our group, and as I continue to tell people, we’re going to fight,” Adair said. “And there were moments today I was just super proud of our effort and our toughness, and we executed the scout in so many ways.”

ASU started each half on fire on both ends of the court to stay just in reach of the Buffs. The Sun Devils scored 21 points in the first, with 10 from junior guard Tyi Skinner. True to Adair’s words, ASU was everywhere on the court defensively, with high pressure and double teams on the Colorado players, who ended the game with 20 total turnovers.

Colorado’s star, senior center Quay Miller led the Buffaloes to the win, putting up a double-double consisting of 17 points and 10 rebounds, while shooting 50% from the field. 15 of Miller’s points came in the first half.

Contrary to past games, ASU was able to keep it together coming out of the halftime break. The Sun Devils outscored the Buffs 15-8 in the first 9:57 of the third quarter. They held Colorado to just 26.7% shooting from the field while forcing 5 turnovers to cut the Buffs’ lead to just four. It took a three-point shot by Kindyll Wetta in the final seconds of the quarter for Colorado to break out of its slump.

“Their Laker cuts, their backdoors were getting us in that first half so we had to talk about how we were guarding that (and) what were the adjustments that we were going to make,” Adair said. “And they didn’t get those in the second half, and as a coach, that’s the players listening and adjusting there.”

Despite the loss, Skinner had a standout game. She played the full 40 minutes and ended with 27 points and 4 steals. Scoring almost half of her team’s points, she was just two points short of matching her career high.

“[I] just try to do everything I can, just to help my team win,” Skinner said. “I just want to play my best because I know my teammates trust in me to take the shots. I just try to stay locked in and make the shots I make count, and just to get my teammates open, get them going.”

Although ASU played well in the first and third frames, in the second and fourth the Sun Devils focus seemed to slip. Colorado outpaced ASU by a combined 11 points in the second and fourth quarters, averaging 58% from the field compared to ASU’s 38.6% clip.

Ultimately, the Buffaloes were able to show their strengths as a top 25 team, pulling away in the final minutes of the fourth and leaving the Sun Devils in their dust.

The Sun Devils will have one more chance to earn their first Pac-12 win at home when No. 4 Utah comes to Desert Financial Arena on Sunday.

“Just because of the parity of this league, every possession matters, and there are a couple that we know we want to get back,” Adair said. “This group is going to continue to get better, and this group is going to continue growing. We know because we see it everyday, and they do it everyday, that they are coming in with a winning mindset, with a mindset of working to get better. It is going to shift, for this group.”