Sun Devils end promising weekend with another heartbreaking loss

(Photo via Janaé Bradford/WCSN)

TEMPE – Coming into Sunday, ASU Women’s Basketball was still winless against Pac-12 Conference teams. Even in one of their most complete games of the season, the Sun Devils could not find their way into the win column on Friday against Washington State. On Sunday, the Sun Devils’ matchup with Washington was closely contested until the very end, but ASU still couldn’t overcome its faults.

With 19.3 seconds left to play in the fourth quarter, a charge called on Washington sophomore forward Dalayah Daniels gave ASU the ball back with a two-point differential. Junior guard Jaddan Simmons missed the potential game-tying shot, and a scramble ensued for the ball.

Freshman guard Trayanna Crisp came away with the rebound, and following a timeout, Simmons was given another chance to be the hero. This time a strong drive to the rim had a disappointing end, with the contested layup not able to find the bottom of the net.

For the second time this weekend, the Sun Devils’ day ended in heartbreak as the Huskies (11-9, 3-7 Pac-12) escaped Desert Financial Arena with the 55-53 win over ASU (7-12, 0-10).

“We’re talking about those lulls and those possessions and those moments,” head coach Natasha Adair said. “Two backdoor layups, an uncontested three, and that’s the difference. I also told Jaddan Simmons – her with the ball in her hands at the end of the game, I would take that every day. For all that she does for our team, for what she brings on both sides of the ball, to be able to have that look, that opportunity, for her to be right there.”

A fiery first quarter from ASU was filled with strong offense and defense. The Sun Devils scored 19 points to open the game, shooting 42.1% from the field. On the other side of the court, Simmons led a masterclass in on-ball, off-ball and transition defense to help ASU stay in front.

As the game progressed, offensive production slowed but the Sun Devils stayed competitive. ASU kept up in the rebounding battle and went just about blow-for-blow in the paint.

However, the version of the Sun Devils that emerged from the locker room after the halftime break looked unrecognizable compared to the version that played the first 20 minutes. ASU shot 14.3% to Washington’s 56.3% from the field.

Thanks to Daniels and senior forward Haley Van Dyke, the Huskies doubled ASU’s rebounding total and started to pile on second-chance scores and points in the paint.

“I thought our help was not where it needed to be, and we weren’t bodying up and getting over those screens,” Adair said. “We were kind of going under or running into them, and so that was what we worked on. … Help is supposed to be right there to counter anything at the rim, and we were just a little late.”

The third quarter also saw the Sun Devils struggle in their premier shooting category: free throws. On the afternoon, ASU was 8-for-12 from the charity stripe, with three of those misses coming in the third quarter alone.

For the Sun Devils, racking up free throw attempts and makes has presented winning opportunities this season, but that wasn’t the case on Sunday.

“We are good at getting to the free throw line, but we got there, but it was 66%,” Adair said. “ … Not that that was a difference maker but that was a category that, as we’re checking off all the boxes of the things we’ve done well or the things we need to continue to improve upon, that’s the one that we can control for sure.”

The 19-10 showing continued the trend of poor third-quarter outings for the Sun Devils. Even though they fought back in the final frame, there wasn’t much ASU could do to regain its first-half energy and momentum.

“When we’re in [the locker room], we are reminding them it’s 0-0,” Adair said. “It’s the start of the game again. You don’t get comfortable with the lead. You don’t hang your head if you’re down. It’s a 40-minute game. As coaches, we’re going to continue to remind them, but as players, collectively, they’re going to have to come together and get it done. … At the end of the day, you’ve got to come out ready.”

Junior guard Tyi Skinner, who missed most of the first half due to foul trouble, lit Desert Financial Arena ablaze, scoring all 11 of her points in the final 10 minutes. Simmons, who tallied 11 points, eight rebounds and five assists, continued to be a factor down the stretch.

But intermittent lapses in defense allowed the Huskies to maintain their lead and score easy buckets on backdoor opportunities. Getting beat twice late in the game made it hard for ASU to complete the comeback.

“It’s how you position yourself and knowing where they want to go,” Adair said. “That’s why you jump, often, towards the ball, so then, you can send the cutter behind you, so they’re not open, and if for some reason something happens, the last line of defense is the help defense. … Just one miscue, they’re going to be open, and I just thought we were a little reactive in it instead of being proactive.”

As the final shot from Simmons went up and came down, it became clear that, once again, the Sun Devils had failed to capitalize on one of their strongest performances of the season.

With time running out and conference foes making strides, the possibility of a winless Pac-12 schedule becomes more and more imminent.

Nonetheless, Adair continues to see improvements in her team. She believes the opposite, that as the team continues to put the pieces in place and grow together, positive results will follow.

“I talk to them about their effort and that they’re playing hard, and we were in a position to win, but it didn’t come down to that last shot,” Adair said. “ … That wasn’t the deal. The deal was throughout the game, those backdoor layups, those free throws, me having to call that timeout early in the third to refocus us, and so, as a team that’s still learning and growing and getting better, we eliminate those controllable things, we will see it shift.”