ASU women's basketball came back from a 12-point deficit in the first half to defeat Utah 56-48 on the road Friday afternoon.
While neither team could score efficiently, as each finished the game shooting under 31% from the field, ASU (6-2) found ways to make up for its lack of shotmaking.
The Sun Devils grabbed 19 offensive rebounds, five coming from freshman forward Katelyn Levings, leading to 13 second-chance points for the team.
"I'm excited about where this team can go rebounding," head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. "Katelyn ... is an outstanding rebounder and got to the boards."
The Sun Devils also forced 18 turnovers, helping the team score 15 points off of the takeaways. Levings and junior guard Taya Hanson each recorded two of the team's six steals.
"We were connected, we played off each other on defense, we were definitely (the) more aggressive team," Hanson said.
However, the team did not start the game with that energy, finishing the first half trailing 25-18. Turner Thorne said postgame that her team was not playing hard enough in the first two quarters.
ASU's defense tightened up in the second half, holding Utah (2-3) to 18% shooting from the field and forcing the team to miss each of its 10 three-point attempts across the final two quarters.
The Sun Devils also held the Utes' leading scorer, sophomore guard Brynna Maxwell, to six points on eight shots.
"We were just like, 'Don't let her get hot,'" freshman guard Jaddan Simmons said. "We just needed to suck up on the three-point line, and we needed to play team defense, talk it, touch it, just being able to communicate on the court the whole time."
While Turner Thorne wants to see more of the shot-making she sees in practices, she is proud that her young team fights its way to wins.
"We are a tough team," Turner Thorne said. "During the preseason, we knew we were young, so we prepared for late-game situations. We really tried to get them to understand what it takes to win."
Turner Thorne said her younger players showed no fear, which was evident when Simmons drove past Utah freshman forward Peyton McFarland, who recorded six blocks, for a crucial basket in the fourth quarter. Simmons scored nine of her 12 points in the fourth quarter.
ASU will travel to face Colorado for its next game on Sunday, Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at alexjweiner@gmail.com and follow @alexjweiner on Twitter.
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