(Photo: Madison Sorenson/WCSN)
TEMPE — Midway through the second quarter of Arizona State’s women’s basketball game against BYU, senior guard Marley Washenitz intercepted a pass and raced down the court for what was supposed to be an easy, wide-open layup. But, as Washenitz went up to scoop the ball into the basket, BYU’s Delaney Gibb flew through the air, spiking Washenitz’s attempt out of bounds.
The ball nearly ended up in the student section.
Gibb’s emphatic block – the catalyst for a BYU comeback – served as a fitting embodiment of how BYU was always lying in ambush, ready to reject ASU when it needed a win the most.
After a 13-point halftime advantage, ASU (22-8, 9-8) would fall to BYU (19-10, 8-9) on Wednesday, 66-61.
The Cougars ended ASU’s perfect 15-0 start to the season in January. Wednesday, they further complicated ASU’s path to the NCAA Tournament that appeared to be devoid of twists and turns three weeks ago.
“We got comfortable with our lead,” junior forward McKinna Brackens said. “We knew that they were going to come out swinging, and we never swung back.”
The loss was a bittersweet ending to the Sun Devils’ Senior Night and home finale.
After the final buzzer sounded, and seniors who had just played their final game at Desert Financial Arena lined up for the ceremony, tears streaming down their faces. What was meant to be a heartfelt tribute turned into a night that hardly felt worth celebrating. Seniors Washenitz, Gabby Elliott and Last-Tear Poa shot a combined 6-for-23 from the field.
Brackens led the way in scoring for the Sun Devils with 16 points. But her inefficient 4-for-16 shooting led to larger problems throughout the game.
ASU has largely struggled in end-of-game sequences; Wednesday’s game was no different.
BYU capitalized on ASU’s eight third-quarter turnovers, turning them into a decisive advantage. The Cougars outscored the Sun Devils 28-11 in the period, with 13 points coming off ASU miscues.
The Sun Devils also struggled to break BYU’s zone defense.
Zone is typically a rare schematic choice for BYU head coach Lee Cummard, but he decided to deploy it after his pre-game film studies revealed that the Sun Devils had struggled against it all season.
“Normally, I’m not a zone person,” Cummard said. “I don’t like zone. But for some reason, we stuck with it, and it caused them some issues.”
The Sun Devils’ underwhelming offense created a ripple effect on the defensive end. Costly transition breakdowns gave the Cougars wide-open looks from beyond the arc. Despite shooting just 25 percent from three overall, it connected in timely spurts, knocking down five triples during its furious third-quarter surge.
For every BYU three-point attempt, Cougar fans erupted, shouting “three!” and flashing the corresponding number of fingers the instant the ball left a shooter’s fingertips.
No matter which team was shooting the ball, it felt as though half the arena was cheering for them.
The many navy-colored shirts in the stands not only packed out the DFA stands, making the atmosphere feel like a March Madness game, but it also helped set the arena’s attendance record for the year, drawing a crowd of more than 6,700.
Wednesday’s game might be the only March Madness-like game ASU plays in this year.
ESPN’s latest Bracketology has the Sun Devils listed as the “first team out.” This loss will surely drop them even farther out of contention.
Despite the Cougars potentially swatting away any chance ASU had of making the NCAA Tournament, Coach Miller still believes her team deserves a bid.
“I would say this team is a March team,” Miller said. “Because of the players we have, the style we have, and the wins we’ve had.”
