ASU women’s basketball nearly upsets No. 4 Utah in loss
Utah #Utah
Arizona State women’s basketball turned a matchup against No. 4 Utah into a shootout.
The Sun Devils completely stunned Utah with nine unanswered points to start the game. Going off from there, the Sun Devils didn’t completely squander its grip on the Utes, keeping a close distance in the entire game.
The Utes gained control in the end with nine free throws made that ultimately stopped the relentless effort from ASU in Sunday’s 74-69 loss at Desert Financial Arena.
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ASU’s lead over Utah dissipated when the Utes started to get hot and made the looks that were missed in the first quarter. Both teams had dry spells, but Utah broke through when Peyton McFarland’s layup at 4:57 set off a 10-0 run.
“I thought they were way more aggressive downhill. Early on, they were looking for their 3s,” ASU head coach Natasha Adair said. “They went inside a little bit more, but we normally would double that, but we didn’t want to. We wanted that single coverage.”
It certainly made a difference for ASU that Utah was without its top scorer Alissa Pili. Not only does Pili lead the team with 20.7 points per game, but she added the inside presence that Utah lacked in parts of the game.
Key moments
Kayla Mokwuah, who was honored alongside Isadora Sousa for Senior Night in a pregame ceremony, took over in the first quarter, getting the first layup and a steal within the first minutes. From her lead, ASU went on a 9-0 start and forced four turnovers from Utah.
Mokwuah had eight points and five rebounds in the first quarter, while the team had nine rebounds. The Utes had a game-high seven turnovers in the first quarter.
With 11 lead changes in the game, ASU had a wild game against Utah. In the fourth quarter, Jaddan Simmons swiped the ball from Peyton McFarland and assisted on Treasure Hunt’s layup for a tied score at 1:51.
ASU was unable to overtake the lead as Utah outscored ASU 9-4 in the final stretch.
Top performers
Sydney Erikstrup sparked ASU’s bench with a double-double. She tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds with three 3-pointers. Erikstrup’s ability to get stops was key in the second half when ASU crawled back into the game when ASU hit a valley in the second quarter.
Kayla Mokwuah played with more freedom to start the game and carried it over with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Treasure Hunt led with two blocked shots and was a catalyst for the 16 turnovers committed by the Utes. On the offensive end, she chipped in 13 points and got to the line eight times with six free throws.
They said it
“For us, it’s always going to start on the defensive end. If we don’t give up those straight lines or don’t give them those second-chance opportunities, then I think there’s an advantage to us. We did have a couple of looks that were open that we did not knock down, so do it on the defensive end and you don’t have to put too much pressure on that last shot.” —ASU head coach Natasha Adair on the end of the game.
“My teammates did a great job of finding me and getting me open so that really helped. KayKay (Mokwuah) told me — I don’t how much time was left — You need two more boards. I didn’t know.” —ASU guard Sydney Erikstrup on her double-double.
Up next
The Sun Devils will travel to the Oregon schools next week to conclude conference play. ASU will play at Oregon State on Thursday at 8 p.m. and then at Oregon on Saturday at 1 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU women’s basketball nearly upsets No. 4 Utah in loss