ASU Women’s Basketball: Sun Devils continue search for first Pac-12 win in City of Angels

(Photo via Janaé Bradford/WCSN)

Still winless in Pac-12 Conference play, ASU Women’s Basketball will head west to the Golden State to take on USC and No. 14 UCLA.

The Sun Devils (7-12, 0-10) head to the west coast without a win in the new year. It will be the first games ASU has played on the road since losing to No. 2 Stanford and Cal on Dec. 31 and Jan. 2, respectively.

This road trip comes just one week after the Sun Devils lost to the Washington schools by a combined six points. The tight losses were highlighted by the play of junior guard Jaddan Simmons, who scored 20 points against Washington State and recorded 11 against Washington, along with eight rebounds and five assists.

The first stop on the trip is USC. Coming off a 71-54 upset win over then-No. 25 Colorado, the Trojans (16-5, 6-4) are set to host ASU on Friday.

In a stunning turnaround from its 2021-22 campaign in which it finished 10th in the Pac-12, USC has just five losses this season, with only one coming against an unranked opponent. The Trojans also have been the only Pac-12 team to defeat No. 2-ranked Stanford.

The Trojans are an efficient team on both ends of the floor. Defensively, they’ve only allowed opposing offenses to shoot 34.9% from the field and 25.1% from deep, good for second and first in the Pac-12. Their defense was a critical factor in their win against Stanford, a lights-out shooting team that shot just 19% from beyond the arc against the Trojans.

Backing its defense, USC has a three-pronged offensive attack led by graduate forward Kadi Sissoko. The Parisian has not disappointed in her first year in Los Angeles, scoring at will for the trojans. Sissoko is scoring 15.4 points per game and snatching 6.4 rebounds at an efficient 54.6% field goal shooting.

The Sun Devils will have to keep Sissoko at bay, but they’ll likely also have their hands full with USC’s other double-digit scorers. Graduate guard Destiny Littleton and sophomore guard-forward combo Rayah Marshall have been hot in the last few games. Littleton posted 21 points to push the Trojans past Colorado, backed by double-doubles from Marshall and Sissoko.

For game two, ASU will face a UCLA team that is eager to return to Pauley Pavilion — where they’re 9-1 this season — after a four-game road trip. The Bruins (17-5, 6-4) will face off against No. 22 Arizona on Friday before hosting the Sun Devils on Sunday.

The Bruins love to shoot the basketball and often do an excellent job executing their plays, but they’ve also experienced severe droughts at times. This has caused their three-point percentage to rest at just 30.9% on the season, coming in at 9th in the conference of champions, while attempting the second-most three-pointers.

UCLA is led by senior guard Charisma Osborne. She leads the Bruins in scoring, putting up 15.4 points a night with six rebounds while shooting 38.3% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc.

Coupled with its high basketball IQ, UCLA has no problem getting its hands dirty. The Bruins lead the Pac-12 in offensive rebounds, and those second-chance opportunities have helped propel them past teams late in games.

The Sun Devils will have lots to handle this weekend as both LA schools match up well against ASU’s stars Simmons and junior guards Treasure Hunt and Tyi Skinner. Natasha Adair will need an ace up her sleeve for the Sun Devils to earn their first Pac-12 victory in the City of Angels.