Sun Devils third quarter woes reemerge in loss to rival Lopes

(Photo via Julia Coyne/WCSN)

TEMPE — In non-conference action on Friday, ASU women’s basketball took on GCU in an effort to extend their winning streak to four games, which would be the longest of the season.

Following a convincing victory against Pacific, in which senior guard Jaddan Simmons scored a career-high 26 points, ASU (7-2) hosted crosstown rivals GCU (6-2) in an attempt to maintain its perfect home record this season. Despite competing with Lopes for the first half, ASU failed to keep up in the second half and fell 66-59.

The Sun Devils started the game sloppy, committing seven turnovers in the first quarter alone. However, they were only behind by one basket at the end of the first thanks to high-percentage shooting and six forced turnovers.

The offense slowed down in the second quarter, as ASU shot just 37.5% from the field and failed to make or attempt any free throws or 3-pointers. Fortunately for the Sun Devils, even worse shooting from GCU and six more turnovers forced by a staunch ASU defense kept the score tied at halftime.

“I just think, collectively, we didn’t get enough paint touches. We didn’t get enough shots and finish enough shots around the rim today. We live on the free-throw line. We bank on second-chance opportunities. Collectively, we didn’t play our brand today,” ASU head coach Natasha Adair said.

After starting the season with a string of games in which the Sun Devils struggled coming out of the locker room at halftime, ASU briefly remedied these issues, outscoring opponents 65-32 in its last three games.

Friday’s affair, however, would not see that same second-half surge. ASU was outscored 17-7 in the third quarter and had its second-lowest scoring quarter of the season, behind only its six-point third quarter against Texas.

ASU shot 3-for-10 in the quarter, committing six turnovers, and sophomore guard Trayanna Crisp scored all seven of the Sun Devils’ points. Crisp finished with 18 for her season-high, keeping ASU in the game and fueling a possible comeback later in the fourth.

“We talked about our third quarters, saying, ‘It’s a tie ball game. This is what we do,'” Adair said. “I’ll go back and reevaluate what happened. We knew this was going to be a competitive game. We talked about finishing on empty. I just felt like we were a step slow.”

The Sun Devils had no free throw attempts in the third quarter and just six in the fourth, giving them only eight attempts for the game compared to GCU’s 20 attempts.

Eight free throw attempts are the fewest of the season. It’s only the third time this season that ASU has had less than 20 and just the first time they’ve gone under ten.

“We had eight free throw attempts. That’s not us,” Adair said. “We’re a team that normally gets to the free throw line 20-plus times. We attribute that a little bit to their pressure, but just us not being as aggressive as we have been.”

In a dismal offensive performance, the Sun Devils scored just one bench point and had just five points from players who aren’t Simmons, Crisp or sophomore guard Jalyn Brown. Without players like senior guard Treasure Hunt and junior guard Morasha Wiggins, the Sun Devils were left without much guard depth.

ASU did manage to make it close late in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Lopes in the final 10 minutes and making a few three-pointers to remain competitive. However, the Lopes’ third-quarter surge would be too much, and a couple of late GCU runs would seal the mid-major’s victory over the Sun Devils 66-59 in the end.

ASU will seek to rebound from a painful setback when they begin conference play on Dec. 17 against their neighbors down south, the Arizona Wildcats. Adair set some expectations for the Sun Devils as they prepare for conference play in the Pac-12 Conference’s final season.

“(The goal is) to win, and for us, in preparation for that, to continue to improve,” Adair said. “There are things that we are going to need to do, and for us to have a good week to prepare and reevaluate this game and just all the games prior and where our strengths are and where our weaknesses are. What are teams going to continue to try to expose and really work on honing in on that and making sure we’re better.”