Arizona State women's basketball unable to gain momentum vs. Santa Clara in 65-55 loss
There were moments when the Arizona State women’s basketball team could capitalize on its momentum against Santa Clara, but the Sun Devils couldn’t close it out.
ASU put together a good third quarter and tied the game, but couldn't stay consistent in the fourth quarter with Santa Clara going on a 10-0 run to start the period. ASU fell behind and eventually dropped a 65-55 loss on Saturday at Desert Financial Arena.
"Against any team, you can't spot them, especially at winning time," ASU head coach Natasha Adair said. "There were moments especially where our pressure looked really good and we really were in sync offensively. Our defense was disruptive, but down the stretch, I felt like we couldn't get the shot we wanted. They scored and we didn't."
Santa Clara (12-3) came in with an impressive resume, including an 89-50 win over Oregon, and finished 2-2 against Pac-12 opponents in its nonconference schedule.
For the first time in her four-year career, ASU point guard Jaddan Simmons came off the bench, checking in at 1:52 in the first quarter. Simmons had battled a stomach virus over the last few days and only participated in shootaround the day before. The Sun Devils struggled without Simmons, going down 7-0 as Santa Clara shot 3-for-4.
Once a timeout was called and Simmons checked in, she found Journey Thompson, whose shot was rebounded in by Kadidia Toure. Toure drew a foul on the play, getting ASU (8-5) on the board at 7-3. Simmons finished with 11 points and tied for the team-high on rebounds with seven in 33 minutes.
The Sun Devils still fell into the same pattern in the previous two games that saw a combined 25 3-pointers allowed. Santa Clara, which had a .341 3-point shooting percentage ahead of the game, shot seven 3-pointers with the bulk of them coming in the second quarter. The Broncos made 12 of their first 14 points from the 3 for a 38-31 lead at halftime.
Key moments
ASU did a better job of limiting Santa Clara in the third quarter and caught up to finish the quarter tied at 44. ASU needed to take care of the 3-point line and limited the Broncos to going 0-for-3.
Defensively, ASU took care of Santa Clara, forcing four turnovers and going on a 7-0 run to tie it at 40. Santa Clara’s offense came right back, but Trayanna Crisp finished the quarter with a big steal against guard Tess Heal to finish tied.
But the fourth quarter didn't have that same momentum going for the Sun Devils as Santa Clara raced to a 10-0 start.
Top performers
Trayanna Crisp led ASU's offense with 15 shot attempts and 12 points. Crisp grabbed four steals and helped ASU's offense restart in dry spells throughout the game.
Kadidia Toure didn't get a lot of touches in the paint, but still was effective with 10 points.
They said it
"The biggest thing is consistency for 40-plus minutes. We see it and we see it in glimpses, but there are moments in the game where we have to stay focused and we have to stay locked in. But there are so many great moments in this game, but we have to do that for 40-plus minutes, not for 30 minutes. These are teachable moments." — Adair on what her team needs to do before Pac-12 play begins.
"I was in the gym working on being more consistent as a player and working on being a leader as well in the offseason. I was really serious about it." — Crisp on her improvements in the offseason.
"We can't go into the game scared and we have to be confident within ourselves and be better. We have to learn each and every game and make less mistakes." — Toure on going into Pac-12 play full-time.
Up next
ASU will resume conference play hosting Utah on Friday, Jan. 5 and Colorado on Sunday, Jan. 7 at Desert Financial Arena.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU women's basketball drops 65-55 loss to Santa Clara
