(Photo via Max Zepeda/WCSN)
On Friday night in Tempe, Arizona State Women’s Basketball came as close as they could to earning their first conference win of the season.
With the Sun Devils trailing 53-55 with just under four minutes remaining against Washington State, junior guard Jaddan Simmons drove down the lane and hit a contested layup for ASU’s first lead of the night. The crowd went wild.
However, ASU then proceeded to let the Cougars go on a 5-0 run and were never able to regain their edge. Adding onto their eight-game losing streak coming into the night, the Sun Devils were unable to pull out the win.
With their 61-57 loss to the Cougars (14-6, 4-5), ASU (7-11, 0-9) remains the only team in the conference without a win since Pac-12 play began in December.
Despite another consecutive loss, head coach Natasha Adair remains supportive of her squad’s effort.
“I hurt for our players because you saw them play hard today, and Simmons led us … ” Adair said. “I thought we adjusted in the second half, led by [Simmons and freshman guard Trayanna Crisp]. You know what, you’re always going to see us play hard.”
Despite the home-court advantage, ASU’s shooting was as dry as the Sonoran Desert in Desert Financial Arena Friday night. The Sun Devils made just one basket from the perimeter, shooting a measly 6.3% from behind the arc. The Cougars, on the other hand, connected on 50% of their three-point tries.
Junior guards Tyi Skinner, Treasure Hunt and Simmons combined for 0-12 from beyond the three, five of which came in the last quarter of the match.
Despite a dry day offensively, ASU was in the zone on the other end of the court. The Sun Devils’ tenacious defense held Washington State star and Pac-12 leading scorer junior guard Charlisse Leger-Walker to just 12 points. Reducing Leger-Walker to just 4-14 from the field and forcing her to make seven turnovers was crucial to keeping ASU competitive.
As a team, the Sun Devils were visibly playing more aggressively than in previous games, jumping passing lanes and applying heavy ball pressure. Although they averaged just 6.5 steals coming into Friday night’s game, they ended with 11 steals, capitalizing for 20 points off of turnovers.
With the improvement, Adair had high praise for her team’s defensive accomplishments, highlighting Simmons for following her assignment.
“I thought our defense was phenomenal in a way,” Adair said. “ … Jaddan is relentless defensively. She gives us balance on both sides of the ball, but we know if we need someone to shut down their premier player, Jaddan never backs away or shies away from that assignment.”
However, defense would not be enough to carry the Sun Devils to the finish line. Despite keeping the score close, when they needed it most, the Sun Devils could not get the ball into the hoop. Even though Adair expressed that she wants her players to be more aggressive, ASU going 0-7 from the field in the final three minutes of play helped seal the win for Washington State.
Poor shooting down the stretch notwithstanding, Simmons saw an explosion in offensive production. She scored 20 points and five rebounds, while shooting 56% from the field, almost matching her career high.
Even though Simmons had her time in the spotlight, she made sure to spread the love to her teammates.
“We came out, and we were really aggressive, and we were pushing up,” Simmons said. “The posts were stepping up, blocking shots. I wanted to give a shoutout to [graduate center] Kayla Mokwuah because she was a big leader tonight … I even told Tray, ‘Go downhill.’ I trust her. The team trusts her, and that’s how it is with everybody.”
Still in search of its first Pac-12 win, ASU will welcome Washington to Tempe on Sunday. With steady improvements from their last two outings, the Sun Devils just might have a shot when they take on the 10th-ranked team in the conference Sunday afternoon.
