Arizona State women suffer latest defeat in blowout loss to Stanford
Early in the third quarter on Sunday, Stanford’s Haley Jones tangled in a game and lost her shoe. The game went on, but for the next few possessions, Jones alternated between defending and desperately trying to get her heel back into her sneaker.
As it turned out, that was by far the most dramatic sequence from Arizona State’s 96-64 bludgeoning against sixth-seeded Stanford, whose star-studded roster had little trouble with the lowly Sun Devils.
The loss dropped Arizona State to 0-14 in the Pac-12 game and 7-16 overall. Stanford improved to 12-2 and 24-3 overall.
Stanford scored 29 points in the first quarter, a number Arizona State didn’t match until late in the third quarter.
Arizona State coach Natasha Adair said she thinks her team did a good job in limiting Stanford’s two brightest stars – namely Jones, who scored just two points – but credited the Cardinal with his great talent.
“They just keep coming,” Adair said. “I think there were 13 of them tonight and there’s no real drop-off.”
For a time, Stanford seemed able to surpass the most points scored in the program’s history against Arizona State, a record already owned by the Cardinal, who scored 113 points with the Sun Devils in 1994.
But the Sun Devils played a cleaner, more aggressive game in the last two quarters. They were edged out by just a point by Stanford in the second half.
“You see the fight and the moments and we just have to keep building on those moments until they’re consistent for 40 minutes,” Adair said. “It will come. That’s part of growing, that’s part of coaching, that’s part of teaching a group that just keeps getting better.”
key games
Stanford was in control throughout the game, so it’s hard to say any particular play had any special meaning. Two days after both Adair and guard Tyi Skinner said Arizona State couldn’t allow Stanford’s Hannah Jump open 3-point looks, Jump knocked down two 3s early in the first quarter and finished 4 for 8 on 3-point attempts .
“We let Jump out a little early,” Skinner said. “Knowing that she was the shooter on the team gave them momentum. We have to be aware, especially if you don’t score, you have to make some stops.
main actor
Five Stanford players finished in double figures, with Brink’s performance being perhaps the most notable. Although she only played 12 minutes, Brink had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Skinner led the Sun Devils with 23 points, for the 12th time this season she had at least 20 points.
“Her nickname is ‘Showtime,'” Adair said of Skinner. “She’s not afraid of the lights or any moment. And she’s playing with a little chip on her shoulder. Here’s a player who was told she’s too small or she can’t or you can’t play at that level. I think she’s making a statement that she can.”
You said so
“I think every team has the talent, but I think theirs is the depth. You really have no waste. You don’t see that everywhere. You see the top 7 or 8 people, but not 13 or 14. I think they’re talented. I think they work hard and do their open shots. But I think that goes more to their depth than it compares to any team in our league. I think every team has that, but they just don’t have that many.” — Adair on what makes Stanford so tough.
Next
For the Sun Devils, who remain on track for their worst Pac-12 record in school history and perhaps their first winless conference season, next weekend’s schedule doesn’t get much easier when Colorado (Friday) and Utah (Sunday) visit Tempe . Both are ranked, with Colorado competing at No. 25 and Utah at No. 7 on Sunday.