(Tempe, AZ) The Arzona State Sun Devils finished the home portion of their schedule and hosted the BYU Cougars.
BYU (18-10, 7-9) gave the Devils their first loss of the season in Provo Utah after starting 15-0. ASU wanted revenge.
It’s was also Senior Night Gabby Elliott, Makayla Moore, Last-Tear Poa and Marley Washenitz were honored before the game.
Arizona State was still on the bubble, but their stock was rising. They came in with a 37 WAB (Wins Above the Bubble), which put them in third place with ESPN’s Bracketology. Nebraska (32) and Colorado (36) are ahead of the Sun Devils.
This had been a banner year at home with the Devils only losing one game to Kansas State on February 1st 74-67. Eight games at home has seen ASU hold their opponents to under 55 points for the games.
First Quarter
The game started slow before BYU hit their first basket at the 8:14 mark, nine seconds later the Devils tried it up on an Heloisa Carerera layup 2-2.
Both teams drove the ball successfully early and at the midway point of the opening quarter ASU held a 9-6 advantage.
The Cougars tried be physical and body up ASU and over play defense, resulting in some uncharacteristic turnovers by the Sun Devils.
Neither team could break away as the largest lead was three points by ASU. Both teams shot under 50% with the Sun Devils holding BYU to 5-14 (36%) shooting. A slim 13-12 lead for Arizona State.
Second Quarter
The Devils sunk the first two baskets of the quarter for their biggest lead 17-12.
ASU was lazy on a few inbound plays where they turned it over to the Cougars.
Brigham Young’s Olivia Hamlin hit their first three point basket to pull them within five 20-15 with 4:49 til halftime.
Amaya Williams countered with her own three pointed a minute later and ASU was back up by eight 23-15.
Molly Miller used her bench liberally trying to find the right combination. Fresh legs worked as the Sun Devils took a double digit lead 27-15 at the 2:41 mark.
Things began to click for ASU as they took control in the waning minutes of the quarter and took advantage of the new found momentum to lead 31-18 at the half.
Halftime
Each team had its moments, although Arizona State led all but 43 seconds of the first half.
BYU and the Devils both wanted to establish the low post game with the Cougars scoring 10 points in the paint to ASU’s 8.
The advantage the Sun Devils had was the 12 turnovers they forced and defense that had the Cougars only shooting 27%. BYU did miss a lot of layups however.
Carrera led Arizona State with 10 points on 4-6 shooting, while Delaney Gibb paced the Cougars with 6 points.
A big crowd tonight with a lot of BYU fans not only living locally but also that made the trip from Provo.
Heloisa Carrera takes the shot in the paint.
Third Quarter
Gabby Elliott started the third quarter with a 8 foot fallaway jumper and was matched by Gibb on the Cougars first possession.
Brigham Young got back into the game with switching to a 2-3 zone defense and three outside baskets to trail by eight 35-29 on an 11-4 run.
The Sun Devils have had their challenges with teams playing a zone defense. The zone is a very effetive tool because teams rarely use it except for situations where you want to pack the paint and make your opponent beat you from the outside. A good parallel is teams playing the Service Academies in football where they have to figure out how to defend a triple option offense.
ASU stopped the Cougars run with a three pointer just off the top of the key 38-29. The game’s tempo had picked up significantly.
BYU got some momentum back off a steal and hit a three from the right baseline to cut the lead to four 40-36. The key was their defense that went for the steal and ratcheted up their on ball defense, 40-38.
Marley Washenitz fouled Gibb on a three point attempt, hitting all three shots to make the score 42-41 ASU. The next possesions, Hamlin gave the Cougars the lead 44-42 off her three pointer and Gibb hit short jumper at the buzzer to give BYU their biggest lead. 46-42. The Cougars outscored Arizona State 28-11 in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Carrera picked up here fourth foul with 8:25 left in the game. BYU has taken the Sun Devils out of their game and they looked totally flustered.
The three continued to rain down for the Cougars as Hamlin had the hot hand and a nine point lead 51-42.
Elliott picked up her fourth fould and the Sun Devils found themselves down by 10 points and in foul trouble.
Jyah LoVette hot a right baseline three pointer but BYU came right back with a basket. ASU had to make some defensive stops and not trade baskets with 4:07 left in the contest.
Back came the Sun Devils on the back of Brackens who took control on the offensive end. With a BYU timeout and a slim Cougar lead 60-55 but ASU had the ball.
Elliott’s three was flat and the Sun Devils were forced to foul the remainder of the game. Carrera fouled out to make things worse.
Washenitz picked up a lose ball and scored with 49 seconds left to keep ASU hopes alive 62-59. The turnover came off the ASU press.With the turn of events, the Sun Devils could play straight up defense without fouling.
Hamlin hit a clutch floater in the paint to make it a two possession game with 13.8 seconds left. BYU used most of their shot clock before the Hamlin score.
The Cougars did a smart move to foul Brackens before she could set up for a three point attempt, thus giving her only two free throws. Brackens sank them both to make the score 64-61 with 7.6 seconds left.
After an ASU foul and two Cougar free throws, it was a wrap. Final Score 66-61.
Wrap Up
Tonight’s contest was a tale of two halves. ASU took it to the Cougars in the first two quarters and went into the locker room with a 13 point lead. BYU responded with a stellar third quarter outscoring the Devils by 17 points to take only their second lead of the game after it was 2-0 after the first possesion.
Once the Cougars’ offense got into their flow with drive and kick outs, the three point shot was the dagger that doomed Arizona State.
It remains to be seen if this home defeat will affect the slight cushion on the bubble that ASU had before the game. Selection Sunday is March 15th at 6 p.m. on ESPN.
Tonights crowd was 6, 679 fans. ASU also set a season home attendance record of 61,695. Sun Devil Women’s Basketball is back and coupled with football and the other fast growing sports, the Devils have definitely gotten the attention of the Valley.
Up Next
The regular season finale is in Lubbock against the high powered Texas Tech Red Raiders Sunday at 1 p.m. local time. The Red Raiders average almost 74 points a game, while the Sun Devils score almost 68 points per game. Coach Molly Miller was concerned on getting her squad to up their offensive output against the top teams in the conference with the Big XII Tournament quickly approaching.
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