If it weren’t for the final quarter, the Arizona State women’s basketball team would have had another close game this weekend.
But once Washington State kicked in a new gear offensively and overwhelmed the Sun Devils with a 27-7 edge, ASU slipped away to a 73-46 loss at Desert Financial Arena on Sunday afternoon.
Hot off the heels of Friday’s 73-66 double overtime victory over Washington, the Sun Devils showed remnants of that fight, but couldn’t piece together a consistent effort. The Cougars began with an 11-2 start and didn’t allow ASU to settle into its game.
“From the tip to the final buzzer, I think our defensive effort was not us. It was not what you just saw Friday,” ASU head coach Natasha Adair said. “Everything we do starts on the defensive end. As much as we tell them to don’t get married to offense, that’s something that we will continue to work through if the ball is not going in. It kind of lets the air out of the room.”
The Sun Devils started seeing shots fall more in the second and third quarters, but that wasn’t enough to get by once the Cougars started to attack from the 3-point line more. ASU was outscored 30-3 from the 3, falling into a deep hole.
Key moments
When unchecked, WSU made ASU pay defensively, jumping to an 11-2 start in the game. The Cougars caused even more damage on the perimeter, going 3-for-5 in the third. It was especially dangerous after Mallory Miller’s 3-pointer tied the game at 6:12 in the third quarter, sparking the Cougars on a 6-0 run.
The Cougars were unstoppable in the third quarter, shooting 5-for-5 on field goals and setting up for a dominant final frame.
Top performers
Mallory Miller had yet another big game for the Sun Devils with seven points and seven rebounds. The true freshman has steadily earned more minutes in the last few games and has played a huge role on defense.
As Washington State locked in on Jalyn Brown, Trayanna Crisp took over and led ASU with 14 points on 6-of-15 shooting. Crisp added two steals to her day.
They said it
“I thought they weren’t comfortable early. We weren’t as disruptive and they were able to run their offense and flow. When we guard and defend and deflect and we just have more defensive prowess and energy, that bodes well for us. We get out of transition that way and score points off turnovers. I thought we were a little step behind today.” — head coach Natasha Adair on ASU’s defensive struggles.
“I felt like we didn’t have that bounce and that energy that we had. If we would’ve started off with a bit more energy and a little more pace and defensive stops, that would have helped us out a lot.” — ASU guard Trayanna Crisp on her team’s performance.
Up next
ASU (11-15, 3-11 Pac-12) will head to the Bay Area for the last time to face California on Friday at 8 p.m. and Stanford on Feb. 25 at 1 p.m. Both games will be shown on Pac-12 Networks. ASU previously defeated Cal 76-71 in Tempe in January.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU women’s basketball’s defense unable to stop Washington State
