ASU women’s basketball falls short in comeback bid against No. 21 Colorado
Still chasing the first conference win of the season, Arizona State women’s basketball came close to stunning No. 21 Colorado at Desert Financial Arena.
The Sun Devils outscored the Buffaloes in the second half by three points, but Colorado scored six unanswered points in the final minutes to hand ASU a 70-62 loss on Friday.
Desert Financial Arena housed numerous local elementary schools as part of Sparky’s Kids to College Day, which added a noisy environment and injected adrenaline into the teams as each basket was met with loud cheers.
“We want to win more than anything and I think having the fans is just an added bonus,” ASU guard Sydney Erikstrup said. “It’s obviously the energy and the environment and it gets us all excited and we feed off of it and it’s awesome to have them here.”
The third quarter has been a weak spot for ASU in the past, but it was one of the best quarters for the team in the game. The defense stepped up and held Colorado scoreless while the offense collected 10 unanswered points. The deficit soon decreased to four points when Erikstrup drained a 3-pointer at 1:35 in the third.
ASU had a strong second half and held Quay Miller to two points after she led Colorado with 15 in the first half. All Colorado scorers were in single digits in the second half. The Sun Devils won the glass game in the second half with 21 rebounds over Colorado’s 17.
Key moments
With five minutes left in the game, ASU mounted a crucial 12-4 run over Colorado to keep hopes alive. Tyi Skinner’s first 3-pointer of the game cut the deficit to four points, leading to a timeout from Colorado. ASU earned key stops on three missed attempts from Colorado and eventually got within two points when Kayla Mokwuah made a layup from inside at 3:22.
Colorado got to the line after and then added a 3-pointer from Frida Formann to pad its lead and eventually take the game from ASU.
Top performers
Tyi Skinner once again hit over 20 points for ASU and led all scorers with 27 points and played all 40 minutes in the game. Skinner’s ability to read defenses well showed up in her team-leading four steals.
Jaddan Simmons matched Colorado’s improved defense in the second quarter and worked hard to keep the offense moving. Simmons added 11 points and three assists on 39 minutes of play.
Treasure Hunt led ASU with eight rebounds, including seven defensive rebounds.
They said it
“Just because of the parity of this league, every possession matters and there are a couple that we know we want to get back, but this group is going to continue getting better and growing. We know because we see it every day that they are coming in with a winning mindset.” -ASU head coach Natasha Adair on the game.
“I just want to play my best because I know my teammates trust in me to do my best by taking shots. I just try to stay locked in and get my teammates going.” -Tyi Skinner on her performance.
“We practiced her cutting baseline and just making sure we’re there and cutting her off. Just going over all the schemes and just being really locked in on taking away her strengths so we can capitalize off our own.” -Sydney Erikstrup on guarding Quay Miller in the second half.
Up next
ASU (7-17 overall, 0-15 Pac-12) will conclude its home season on Sunday with No. 4 Utah at 12 p.m. ASU will face the Oregon schools on the road next weekend for the final regular season games.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU women’s basketball falls short in comeback bid vs. No. 21 Colorado
