(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)
The No.17 Arizona State Sun Devils began Pac-12 play with their worst shooting performance of the season, hitting only 23 percent of their shots in a 51-39 loss to the Arizona Wildcats on Sunday.
The Devils, whose seven-game win streak ended with the loss in Tucson, shot 1-of-11 from three in the first half and trailed by seven at the break. A resurgence did not come in the second half, and ASU had its worst offensive performance of the season. Prior to this game, the Devils’ season low in points was 56. That was against No. 5 Louisville, a game ASU only lost by two points.
Not only was ASU’s 39-point total the lowest of the season by far, but this game was also the first time ASU has scored under 40 points since a 61-35 loss to Stanford on Feb. 14, 2014. The Sun Devils scored only 20 points in the first half and made only four of their 23 three-point attempts in the game.
The Wildcats’ offense ran far more smoothly. Arizona shot 46.5 percent from the field but did go 1-of-8 from three. They also went 10-of-11 from the free throw line compared to 9-of-15 for the Devils. Arizona controlled the game for all 40 minutes, never allowing ASU to lead and not even letting the game become tied after the first quarter.
Aari McDonald, who entered leading the Pac-12 in scoring at 24.2 points per game, had a night right on par with her strong non-conference season. She scored on 9-of-17 shooting. In contrast, ASU’s scoring leader, Kianna Ibis, did not score in the first half and finished the game with 11 points.
The Sun Devils also continued to struggle with turnovers. Despite being second in the conference in turnovers per game, ASU has given up the ball 17 times in its last two outings. In their non-conference finale against Fresno State, ASU was able to shoot their way out of any trouble, but they could not do that against Arizona.
The Sun Devils close out 2018 with a loss in one of the worst shooting games in recent memory but will have a new year to try and get a fresh start when they face Utah on Jan. 4 in Salt Lake City.
