Arizona State (8-10, 0-6 Pac-12) entered Friday night’s contest against Washington State (14-5, 3-3 Pac-12) looking to rewrite the season’s path and secure a win for the first time in five games.
The Sun Devils came out flat, shooting an abysmal 1/11 from the field. The offensive struggles were evident for Arizona State, who looked completely out of sync as they trailed 22-6 after the first quarter.
Unfortunately, this slow start cost ASU the game as they struggled to come back from the early deficit.
ASU was able to find its game in the second half by stringing some stops together. They finally generated some offense, which was led by sophomore guard Jalyn Brown, who finished the night with a team-leading 21 points.
Arizona State ended the second quarter trailing 40-28 but had gained some major momentum heading into halftime.
Sun Devils head coach Natasha Adair had the team playing hard coming out of the half as Arizona State looked to claw themselves back into the game.
The board battle was close, with Washington State collecting 34 and ASU 31. Senior guard Jaddan Simmons and graduate student guard Isadora Sousa each shared the team lead with seven rebounds apiece.
The Sun Devils continued to compete throughout the third quarter; however, the deficit seemed to be too significant as they went into the fourth quarter trailing 61-44.
Points in the paint were the story of the game with Washington State generating 42 compared to ASU’s 20. The Sun Devils had no answers on defense when the Cougars collected an offensive rebound.
Shooting for both teams was inconsistent all night, but it was ASU that really struggled, going 21/58 from the field and 6/24 from deep.
Arizona State finished the game strong, but it was not enough, as Washington State took it by a score of 79-64.
One thing ASU can hang its hat on from this performance is how they competed and never gave up.
Arizona State will look to end the road trip with a win on Jan. 21 against Washington, with tip-off starting at 1:00 p.m. MST.
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