ASU women's basketball failed to overcome its worst offensive performance of the season in a 50-35 loss to Washington on Friday in Tempe. The team's 35 points and 20.7% shooting from the field are season-low marks.
The Sun Devils suffered multiple scoring droughts throughout the game, including a stretch spanning over five minutes to start the game. They had another one to close out the first period that bled into the second, then a scoring drought lasting four minutes and 14 seconds in the third quarter.
"We know our plays, we just have to run them right and make our shots," freshman forward Katelyn Levings said.
ASU outrebounded Washington, including grabbing 26 offensive rebounds, and lost the turnover battle by just one.
However, even with the extra shots that came from offensive rebounds, ASU scored just nine second-chance points.
"We were wide open, and we couldn’t hit shots," head coach Charli Turner Thorne said.
Turner Thorne said her team is struggling to shoot in practice, and those struggles are transferring into games. Her remedy for the team's woes was simple: "Hit the gym."
She also wanted to initiate more fast breaks, saying she saw opportunities for steals and to push the pace, but the team did not take advantage.
"We had great moments, and we had times where we were slow," Levings said.
Turner Thorne also said the team needs to stop its opponent's offense when ASU is not scoring. Washington grabbed 16 offensive rebounds of their own and scored 14 points off of them.
Junior guard Taya Hanson led the team in scoring with 11 points. No other Sun Devil scored over double-digit points.
ASU has lost four of its past five games, dropping to a 9-7 record and 4-7 in Pac-12 play. The Sun Devils currently sit in ninth place in the Pac-12 standings.
ASU will take on Washington State next on Feb. 14 at 12:30 p.m. MST in Tempe.
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