This article was originally published on February 19, 2023.
Arizona State (7-18, 0-16 Pac-12) finished its home game schedule with a hard-fought 74-69 loss on Sunday against the Utah Utes (23-3, 13-3 Pac-12). Not only was it the Sun Devils’ last conference home game, but it was their senior recognition night.
ASU and Utah went back and forth with the lead throughout the second half of the game. In their last couple of games, the Sun Devils demonstrated a last strong effort in the fourth quarter, but as the team continued to work and build on that, they couldn’t extend it from the third to the end.
Each team was evenly matched on assists, total rebounds, and points in the paint and continued to go back and forth with the lead until the end. However, the Sun Devils had 26 team fouls, letting the Utes shoot 22-of-31 from the free-throw line.
“We brought our big; we brought Kayla (Mokwuah) over a little to help and take away those straight lines,” Arizona State coach Natasha Adair said. “But I just thought they put their head down and wanted to get to the free-throw line and put foul pressure on.”
The game pressure built up within the second quarter of the game. ASU had a six-minute scoring drought starting with less than eight minutes left. Within this drought, ASU missed 10 shots, and the Utes increased their score by 10 points to take the lead at 29-27.
The Utes kept this lead through the end of the second quarter with a score of 31-29. Arizona State has not had the lead going into halftime since its game against Washington on Jan. 29.
But as the second half of the game approached, the Sun Devils came ready to take back the lead. Throughout the second half of the game, the teams tied eight times, each tying the game four times.
Junior guard Sydney Erikstrup said the team returned from halftime and did a good job limiting the Utes “to just their one shot.”
Within the back-and-forth scoring of the teams, the lead did not exceed 4 points from either side until the Sun Devils fouled against the Utes three times, allowing them to make five free throws for a score of 74-66 Utah.
Adair said even if the Sun Devils got a stop, the Utes got a second chance with intense foul pressure or a quick field goal.
Despite this, the Sun Devils continued to fight until the end with a 3-pointer by junior guard Jaddan Simmons to give a final score of 74-69 Utah.
Before the Utes lead, they had seven turnovers less than six minutes into the game, allowing the Sun Devis more offensive gameplay. But this changed as Arizona State lacked accuracy from the field in the second quarter as the Utes became “more aggressive downhill,” according to Adair.
Erikstrup was an asset for the Sun Devils with 10 rebounds and 15 points. Erikstrup said she “wanted more than anything to win” this game for the seniors, but her teammates did a good job finding her and helping her get open to excel from the field.
Adair recognized the hard work of seniors, Mokwuah and guard Isadora Sousa, throughout the season and the game tonight, as they are more than just players on the team.
“You look to them as just really good examples, great ambassadors,” Adair said. “Not only for our program, but for our university, in our community, and I’m grateful to them both.”
Mokwuah started the game strong with 8 points in the first quarter and five rebounds, allowing the Sun Devils to lead 23-16 at the end of the first quarter. They haven’t had the lead at the end of the first quarter since Feb.10 against California.
“That means they’re growing,” Adair said when talking about the team’s progress throughout the season. “That means they’re learning. That means they’re absorbing what it is that’s being taught, but this is a group of winners. This is a group of winners, and we’re gonna keep fighting.”
Arizona State will play the Oregon State Beavers (11-16, 3-13 Pac-12) at Gill Coliseum on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. MST.
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