ASU Women’s Basketball: Stingy Sun Devil defense stifles Colorado

(Photo: Rebecca Striffler/WCSN)

For Arizona State (8-5), a weeks long wait was well worth the trouble. The Sun Devils upset No. 22 Colorado (13-2) in an overtime thriller after enduring three weeks of postponements due to COVID-19 issues within the program.

The 57-52 victory came in Arizona State’s first game since Dec. 30, after the team was unable to compete in its first six scheduled Pac-12 games.

Entering the fourth quarter, both teams were in great position to snag a victory as Arizona State narrowly led 36-34. Defense began to pave a route to victory for the Sun Devils as they held the Buffaloes scoreless for the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, increasing their lead to eight. With three minutes left on the clock, Arizona State’s rust started to show.

Turnovers neutralized the solid Sun Devil defense as junior guard Jaylyn Sherrod and other Buffaloes capitalized off of the costly errors. In total, Arizona State recorded 29 turnovers on the night. Despite the flurry of turnovers, two made free throws from sophomore forward Katelyn Levings put the Sun Devils ahead by four with just over 90 seconds remaining. Ultimately, it was not enough to keep Colorado from squeaking its way back into the game as Sherrod pulled off a wicked spin before finishing at the rim to make it a one-possession game.

One bucket would have sealed the game for Arizona State, but the turnover struggles made an appearance once again in the form of a steal by sophomore guard Frida Formann. Still, the Sun Devils found themselves one stop away from a dramatic upset. The Arizona State defense showed up in the clutch situation as Levings blocked the shot of a driving Sherrod, but as the ball trickled towards the baseline, freshman guard Kindyll Wetta made a miraculous save underneath the basket, flipping the ball to senior forward Peanut Tuitele. Standing wide-open from point-blank range, Tuitele tied the game with 16 seconds. Arizona State was unable to come up with points in the remaining seconds, sending the game to overtime with the score knotted at 46.

As exciting as the fourth quarter was, overtime did not mirror the same energy. In fact, Arizona State would never need to hit a shot aside from free throws to claim the victory. With a plethora of whistles, the Sun Devils shot 16 free throws in overtime, making 11 of them. It was an ironic ending for a team who failed to record a free throw attempt until midway through the fourth quarter. Nevertheless, defense was the hero once again, suffocating Colorado to only six total points in overtime.

“We knew it was going to be a tough game,” sophomore guard Jaddan Simmons said. “They’re a good team, but we knew if we just stayed connected and used our defense that we would pull out a win.”

Tenacious defense propelled the Sun Devils ahead of the Buffaloes from tip-off to the final buzzer. A normally explosive Colorado squad, averaging 69.7 points per game, was limited to well below their season averages despite playing an extra five minutes due to overtime.

Early in the first quarter Arizona State looked like a competition-starved team on the defensive end of the court, forcing multiple shot clock violations and turnovers. The momentum carried through the entire quarter as the Sun Devils held the Buffaloes to eight total first quarter points.

“Everyone was hungry. We’ve been practicing for three weeks preparing for this game,” senior guard Taya Hanson said. “We’re just ready to get down on the court and compete against the best competition in the country.”

However, the Sun Devils would go on to have their own offensive struggles. Turnovers kept the game tight as Arizona State looked flustered on offense. Colorado took advantage of those mistakes as they quickly turned a seven-point deficit into a one-point ASU lead before halftime. Overall, Arizona State tallied 15 turnovers in the first half while Colorado collected six steals.

“Whatever Colorado does, they’re just really aggressive,” head coach Charlie Turner Thorne said. “They have double the steals of anybody else in the conference that they’ve played against and in the preseason.”

Colorado looked to keep its newfound momentum rolling after fifth-year forward Mya Hollingshed quickly drained a 3 to begin the second half. That’s when they all began to fall, but not for Colorado. A barrage of 3-point bombs from Hanson, fifth-year forward Mael Gilles and senior guard Ayzhiana Basallo laid the foundation for 14-2 Sun Devil run.

“All those threes made me hyped,” Simmons said. “It gave us energy, we came out ready to punch.”

The Sun Devils’ catching fire from three combined with their defense was sublime for the maroon and gold, but turnovers would come back to haunt them and turn the matchup into the overtime nail-biter it will be remembered as.

Hanson was a bright spot on the Sun Devil offense as she collected a team-high 17 points while also adding seven rebounds.

“I’m so happy for Taya,” Turner-Thorne said. “She works really hard, she gets in and shoots extra everyday.”

The stellar offensive performance came in a time of need as Arizona State was without its leading scorer, senior guard Jade Loville. However, there is a chance that Loville will return to the lineup in the Sun Devils’ next game, Sunday Jan. 23 when they host Utah.

After three weeks off, the Sun Devils now have a quick break before they take on the Utes to finally embark on their long overdue Pac-12 conference journey.