(Photo via Janaé Bradford/WCSN)
Despite being down nine points at the end of the third quarter, Arizona State Women’s Basketball (6-1) outlasted Grand Canyon (5-1) Wednesday night to secure the 80-72 win.
The Sun Devils’ comeback was led by junior guard Tyi Skinner, who posted a career-high 29 points, and junior guard Sydney Erikstrup who tallied 11 points and five rebounds.
After the win, Erikstrup talked about how the culture within the team set them up for success against GCU.
“When we’re down, and we get to dig deep and get the win, I think today we showed that obviously, we’ve had some really close games on the road and won them and pulled them out,” Erikstrup said. “I think we’re just a new team. We’re all coming together, and game by game, we have it in us. We want to win more than anything, so we’re anyone [on this team] will do anything on any given night. Whatever it takes to win.”
The crowd of 6,019 was not on ASU’s side Wednesday night. Nonetheless, the Sun Devils pulled out the win amidst the hostile environment. ASU traveled 17 miles across the Valley to face off against the Lopes in ASU’s fifth-straight road matchup. ASU head coach Natasha Adair spoke about being on the road and how her team has adapted.
“They want all that smoke,” Adair said. “They don’t waver, and that was something we talked about prior. I’m really big on just letting them know, whatever the situation is going to be. [GCU] is the team that only has four home losses. They’re used to winning in this building, and for us to be able to come in, if you can do this, this is all preparing us for conference play, and we can go back to this and refer to this type of game and this type of environment.”
Adair’s squad played her brand of basketball – grabbing 47 rebounds to GCU’s 41 and forcing 18 turnovers – but it wasn’t easy for ASU to find its rhythm. Early on, the Sun Devils struggled to traverse GCU’s aggressive defense that averages a nation-leading 18.8 steals per game.
Despite the less-than-ideal start, ASU’s fourth-quarter comeback was one for the history books, as the Sun Devils scored 35 points in the final frame, breaking the school record for most points scored in a quarter. In addition to the historic team performance, Skinner tallied a new career high of 29 points, surpassing her previous best of 25 points.
The win over GCU was another milestone reached during ASU’s daunting non-conference slate. The Sun Devils sparred with three 2022 NCAA Tournament teams in the form of Montana State on the road and No. 7 Notre Dame and American University in the Bahamas. ASU has also participated in a road contest against New Mexico before facing GCU. Both teams competed in the 2022 WNIT.
The road ahead doesn’t get any easier with 2022 NCAA Tournament qualifiers UMass and Stephen F. Austin and 2022 WNIT participant Missouri standing in the way before Pac-12 play begins.
“Glad to be back home, right? I’m glad to be back home,” Adair said. “But, you want to play the best to prepare for the best, right? The Pac-12 is the best conference in the country. We want to be battle-tested, so I’m excited about our competitors. I’m excited about our schedule. It’s just who’s next.”
