Arizona State women's basketball upsets No. 22 Colorado in overtime in return from COVID
It’s been nearly a month since Arizona State women’s basketball last played, but its identity wasn’t forgotten.
Long awaited as the Pac-12 conference play was, ASU’s first test set them up against No. 22 Colorado, a rising force in the conference.
The Sun Devils showed little signs of jitters as the team entered the first game back since six COVID-19 related postponements threw the program into 22 days without a game. But the wait was worth it for ASU (9-5, 1-0 Pac-12) as its defense worked to upset No. 22 Colorado (13-3, 2-3 Pac-12) 57-52 Friday in overtime at Desert Financial Arena.
"I really feel like it’s coming. I mean, 29 turnovers, you don’t make your free throws, and you still find a way to win and you do it without your leading scorer. I’m really proud of our team and how we stayed with things," ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said.
ASU not only held Colorado to its lowest total of the season, but won without leading scorer Jade Lovell (15.5 points) in the lineup. However, the win after a long layoff wasn't a major shock, but a step in the right direction for long-term improvement.
“If we’re not scoring, we got to hold teams. We’re known to hold teams below their average so this comes as no surprise to us because this is what we’re supposed to do," ASU guard Taya Hanson said.
Both teams played an aggressive game in overtime with both teams settling for free throws. ASU forward Mael Gilles took control in the later parts, grabbing four defensive rebounds and scoring five points on free throws. Gilles finished with 11 rebounds as ASU tallied 48 boards.
In part to its resilient defense, ASU came out swinging with a 6-0 start in the game.
Although Colorado found its footing when forward Peanut Tuitele stole the ball from Ayzhiana Basallo’s hands and returned it for a 3-pointer by Frida Formann.
Once Colorado flipped to a zone defense, scoring became even tougher for ASU. The Sun Devils struggled with possession, turning over the ball 10 times in the second quarter.
“The zone was bothering us some in the second quarter at the end," ASU guard Jaddan Simmons said. "But even going down in the halftime, we came out and knew what we were coming into this game for and it was a win. No matter how it looked, it was for a win.”
What helped ASU was the lack of production from Colorado star Mya Hollingshed caused by ASU's defense. The forward shot one-for-four from the floor with her only contribution coming on a 3 with two minutes left in the second quarter. Colorado’s leading scorer was held to six points in 24 minutes and fouled out in the fourth quarter. Quay Miller led the Buffaloes with 12 points and eight rebounds.
"This might have been our best game of locking in, not only the individual matchup, but also the helpside. They were really having the sense of doubling and digging, and not allowing the top players to play to their strengths and iso us. And (Colorado is) a very good iso team," Turner Thorne said.
Colorado’s offense went eight-for-22 (36.4 percent) from the field in the first half. ASU shot 10-for-22 (45.5 percent) with guards Gabriela Bosquez, Simmons, and Hanson leading the offense.
Hanson gave ASU momentum in the third quarter when she nailed a 3 to cut Colorado’s lead to 26-25 at 8:01. The momentum carried over when ASU scored eight unanswered points and Hanson finished the half with six points on two-of-three shooting and made both attempts from 3.
"They poured everything they had so that made me want to give all I had. (Lovell) wasn’t here with us tonight so I knew I needed to step up in that area, but my team has my back," Hanson said.
Hanson finished with 17 points on five-of-12 shooting with a team high three 3-pointers on six attempts.
Colorado carried out a second act in the fourth quarter, mounting an 8-2 run filled with speed and stealth seen throughout the contest. Guard Kindyll Wetta led the Buffaloes with eight steals in the game.
The strong rebounding effort from Colorado came up when Jaylyn Sherrod’s initial shot missed, falling over to Wetta who found an open Tuitele for the look with 16 seconds remaining to tie the game 46-46. ASU struggled to close the game when Colorado’s defense swarmed in the closing seconds to force overtime.
Arizona State will host Utah on Sunday at 12 p.m. from the Desert Financial Arena.
Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com or 602-647-4122. Follow her on Twitter @jennarortiz.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona State women's basketball upsets No. 22 Colorado in overtime in return from COVID
