(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)
The Arizona State Women’s Basketball team rode the back of freshman guard Jaddan Simmons in overtime as it took down No. 9 Arizona 66-64 at Desert Financial Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Simmons scored eight of the Sun Devils’ 11 overtime points, hitting clutch free throws down the stretch. She went 1-2 from the line with just under 20 seconds to play when Arizona’s Cate Reese got the rebound and missed a contested shot as time expired.
“We’re just so proud of our effort today,” junior guard Taya Hanson said postgame, who led the team with 19 points. “We were just playing hard-nosed Sun Devil basketball.”
The win completes a season series split between the two schools after Arizona defeated Arizona State 65-37 on Dec. 10 in Tucson.
“I’m so happy for our team, Sun Devil nation and this is a championship within itself,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “We really executed our game plan in mixing up our defenses, rebounding well and adjusted well limiting our turnovers especially in the second half.”
Simmons ended regulation with only seven points but immediately kicked things into gear as soon as overtime began.
“She is the most consistent player ever and her poise is something our team needs,” Hanson said. “She can make those big time plays and we trust her. I’m just excited to continue to play with her, grow with her and encourage her in her college journey.”
Before overtime, regulation ended with some controversy. ASU led by as many as eight at one point during the fourth quarter, but while leading 55-53 late, Arizona’s Aari McDonald had the ball and while driving appeared to slip inside the lane but officials called a foul on ASU’s Iris Mbulito with 5.2 seconds on the clock. McDonald was awarded two free throws, which she knocked down, to send the game to an extra five minutes.
“The official told me she (McDonald) was tripped,” Turner Thorne said. “I was frustrated but the officials do the best job they can and we have to play through things.”
The Sun Devils got off to one of their best starts of the season shooting 45 percent from the field and knocking down two three-pointers courtesy of Hanson. Good help side defense and discipline led the Sun Devils to a 12-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Arizona picked up the intensity on the defensive end of the floor recording three steals and forcing six ASU turnovers. It all added up to an 8-0 run to end the half to go from trailing most of the half to up 25-20 heading into the intermission.
The Sun Devils were very effective in stopping McDonald in the third quarter holding her to just one field goal after she scored 13 points in the first half.
The lone Sun Devil senior Bre’yanna Sanders made her mark on the game with back-to-back buckets, including one coming from downtown. She finished the game with eight points.
“I am so proud of her,” Hanson said. “She has worked her butt off the last four years and I can not tell you how excited I was whenever she hit a shot tonight. I was playing for her. She’s given so much to this team over the years and brings joy, laughter and excitement over the years.”
Added Sanders: “We had been looking forward to this game since the last time we played them. Staying in the moment was really important to me and Charli really helped my confidence with my shot.”
Turner Thorne is appreciative of what Sanders has done for the program throughout her four years.
“She’s done a great job of contributing and you always want your seniors to go out on a high note,” Turner Thorne said. “I’m really proud of her for sticking with things and for her to play like that in front of her family in her last game at DFA was wonderful.”
ASU also got a career game from freshman forward Maggie Besselink. She had seven points and a game-high 13 rebounds in the winning effort.
“Maggie is an elite rebounder,” Turner Thorne said. “She took it to another level and did really well today.”
The Sun Devils were 8-14 from beyond the arc Sunday and shot 46 percent from the field.
