Sun Devil Offense Struggles to Find Rhythm in Home Loss

TEMPE – From one Wildcat encounter to another, Arizona State couldn’t escape the speed of Kansas State, as it suffered a 74-67 loss at home. The intensity was high at Desert Financial Arena from the get-go, and points were very hard to come by for the valley’s own.

Kansas State came out of the gate blazing, sprinting all over the floor and creating tough shots for Arizona State, something that ironically has been a trademark for the Sun Devils all season. Fans in Desert Financial Arena were standing for a full two minutes and thirty seconds to start the game, as the ASU offense struggled to get a shot to fall.

In response, Molly Miller’s squad created ten points off of turnovers, but were struggling to get anything else going offensively.

The Wildcats had full control early and simply could not miss the bottom of the net on offense. After every high-energy possession defensively, almost always followed with points on the other end. For ASU, its offense, which ranks 14th in the Big 12, was struggling to keep up, shooting 7-of-14.

No matter what sets the Sun Devils ran on either offense or defense, they were being outplayed.

In the first 20 minutes, Kansas State shot 57% from the field and 78% from behind the arc, going 7-for-9. Junior forward Nastja Claessens was dominant in the first half, leading the Wildcats offense with 11 points, finishing with 18.

“You can’t expect to win a ballgame after giving up 12 threes, and most of them were in the first half,” Miller said.

The offense for ASU was nowhere to be found; it shot 40 percent from the field and went just 2-of-9 from the three. By the time half rolled around, the Sun Devils found themselves in a 13-point deficit.

“They made shots, and we missed shots,” Miller said. “Pretty simple.”

At this point, it was going to be up to Arizona State’s ability to adjust and match Kansas State’s offensive display. Unfortunately for the maroon and gold, everything was going the Wildcats way.

To open up the third quarter, KS went on a 14-3 run, knocking down six out of its first ten shots, three of those coming from range. This left ASU down 24 with a quarter and a half remaining. In succession, junior guard Taryn Sides went three for three from the field, with one of those shots being an and-one from three, resulting in a four-point play. Kansas State head coach Jeff Mittie was more than pleased,

“The one she hit in front of our bench for the four-point play, that was a tough shot,” Mittie said.

She would finish with 21 points, going a perfect 5-for-5 from the field and 3-for-3 from behind the arc, along with making eight out of her nine shots at the line.

For an ASU offense that was struggling, that seemed to be the dagger. Disappointed facial expressions in the huddle and hands being thrown in the air after missed opportunities on the offensive end told the story for the Sun Devils up to that point.

However, Arizona State’s offense wasn’t done just yet. A hustle steal turned into a buzzer-beating layup for junior guard Jyah Lovett at the end of the third quarter, which capped off a 12-2 run for the Sun Devils’ offense and finally brought Desert Financial Arena to life.

The Wildcats responded with ten points of their own, but slowed down significantly. With two minutes left in the fourth quarter, graduate student guard Gabby Elliott hit a three-pointer, bringing the Sun Devils within nine, but the closest they would get. With every shot that came for ASU, it was erased by a Wildcat basket right after. For Arizona State, its losses have been highlighted by its inability to create quality looks on offense, and while Miller’s squad battled, the consistent response from Kansas State on the other end was too much for the Sun Devils to overcome.