ASU Women’s Basketball: Sun Devils, Van Hyfte beat UTSA 68-44

(Photo: Brendan O’Keeffe/WCSN)

Arizona State Women’s Basketball returned from Cancun for the ASU Classic and would reunite with a familiar face on Saturday. Returning to the rotation was senior forward Jayde Van Hyfte, who made her season debut against UTSA. The 6-foot-1 forward suited up for the Sun Devils for the first time since the 2020-21 season opener.

“It has been a year and a half since I played basketball,” Van Hyfte said on returning to play. “But overall, I felt pretty ready, and I took my time coming back from this injury. It has been about 10 months since I had surgery. I felt ready, prepared and just excited to be back with my team and playing Sun Devil basketball again. It’s an amazing feeling putting on the jersey and going out there and giving it my all.”

Right from the opening tip, Van Hyfte made her impact known. She rejected a shot by UTSA and then dove on the loose ball to gain possession. The defensive effort ASU imposed on UTSA allowed the Sun Devils to get out into transition and create opportunities on the offensive end. Van Hyfte would finish the game with six points on three-for-three shooting.

“Just her presence… She gives so much energy to our team,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said of what Van Hefte brings to the table. “I thought for not playing for over a year, she did a great job tonight. She will help this very new team come together a little bit better and help us play harder when we get tired, which we are still getting better at.”

ASU’s offense was clicking in the first quarter, as it would go on an 11-0 scoring run. The run was successful because the Sun Devils hit shots from behind the arc, as sophomore guard Jaddan Simmons, sophomore forward Katelyn Levings and senior guard Taya Hanson each contributed a three-pointer. The run was crucial in establishing an early lead that would hold for the entirety of the game.

Even with the early lead, Turner Thorne was not happy with her team’s performance on the offensive end.

“I didn’t think we were real disciplined offensively, and I thought we settled,” Turner Thorne said. “We went into this game saying don’t settle. We’re taking a few too many threes and not getting enough free throws in some games. We did that again today. We came out and we were shooting the ball fairly well and then we sorta fall into this pattern. We just have to get more disciplined.”

ASU’s differential in threes and free throws was high. The team shot 17 threes in the first half, compared to only five free throws. By the end of the game, the differential dropped, but not by much. ASU still shot nine more threes.

The Sun Devils entered halftime with intensity on the defensive end and limited the Roadrunners to 13 points. To continue the bleeding, ASU also held a 21-point lead. The momentum was on ASU’s side, and UTSA would be unable to make any momentum swings.

“They are more drivers, and they’re a transition team,” Turner Thorne said. “We took away their transition, we took away their second shots. In the second half obviously we gave them a few too many second shots, but I thought overall we did a good job of defending them.”

ASU shot 35% from three in the first half and tried to carry that performance into the third quarter. Holding a large lead, the Sun Devils continued to take shots from downtown until they stopped falling. Once the threes stopped finding the bottom of the net, ASU resorted to other options on the offensive end, which allowed UTSA to tie the Sun Devils in the third quarter points with 16.

Still holding a 21-point lead, ASU needed to continue its dominant play to secure a victory in the ASU Classic. But playing with a lead can be a difficult task for Turner Thorne’s team.

With less than seven minutes to play in the fourth quarter, Arizona State allowed UTSA to get back into the game. UTSA was able to string together multiple scoring possessions and cut the 21-point lead to 15. But ASU regrouped, which allowed them to hold onto their lead and ultimately finish the game with a 24-point victory.

ASU will return to action Sunday, Dec. 5, against the Harvard Crimson. But ahead of Sunday’s matchup and the start of Pac-12 Conference play, the Sun Devils have a lot of work to do.

“Basketball is a game of mistakes,” Turner Thorne said. “So we are not going to execute passes and miss shots but it’s the controllables that we aren’t doing. They’re a great group. They really want to do well, they’re just new.”