ASU women's basketball has had its struggles throughout Big 12 play in the 2024-25 season. After a promising start that saw them win two of their first three conference games, it has been a rocky road for the Sun Devils since mid-January.
ASU needed a win against BYU on Saturday to get things back on track, but the game only served as further proof of the team's conference woes. The Cougars were also desperate for a win after their own struggles against conference opponents, going into the game with a 1-8 conference record, and ultimately came out on top 77-67.
ASU has gotten out of the gate slowly in most games, and has a negative 43-point differential in the first half this season. The Sun Devils are often playing from behind to catch up with their opponents.
READ MORE: ASU women's basketball optimistic despite tough Big 12 start
Against BYU, the first half was a back-and-forth struggle as both teams traded buckets and leads. BYU sophomore guard Amari Whiting scored the last bucket of the half, putting the Cougars up 34-31.
With both teams in dire need of a conference win, the first few minutes of the second half were crucial in deciding who came out on top. BYU made the correct adjustments at halftime and opened on a 22-6 run that built the lead to 17 before ASU stopped the bleeding.
"We settled in and really shared the ball," said BYU head coach Amber Whiting. "That was the emphasis tonight and having 25 assists on 30 shots … that's really good."
To compensate for their lackluster first half, the Sun Devils needed to start the second half firing on all cylinders. That hasn't happened much as of late as ASU has been outscored in the third quarter in four out of the last five Big 12 games.
ASU wasn't out of the game against BYU. Perhaps the biggest contributor to ASU's rally in the third and fourth quarters was graduate center Nevaeh Parkinson. Parkinson finished with 17 points and showed off a variety of post moves down low to create space and finish as ASU's leading scorer.
"In the beginning, I was hitting quick moves and quick shots, but once (head coach Natasha Adair) told me that I had to be patient, I took her advice and started being patient," Parkinson said. "I want to make sure that I show up the best that I can."
This game was a microcosm of the overall hardship ASU has faced this season. Turnovers, fast breaks and points in the paint have been a sore spot for the Sun Devils and BYU took advantage of those weaknesses to pull away.
Offensively, ASU lags behind its opponents in points per game, field goal percentage and three-point percentage. The only offensive metric ASU does have the advantage in is free throw percentage, but the team averages 2.7 fewer free throw attempts per game.
Adair understood this could be considered a low point for ASU, but by no means has she packed things in regarding the 2024-25 season.
"We're going to get better in practice, we're going to get better watching film — and they want to get better," Adair said. "We can't turn it on and off, it needs to be on all the time. That switch needs to be on, it needs to stay on."
ASU now sits at 8-15 overall and 2-9 in the Big 12 with seven conference games left before the Big 12 Women's Basketball Tournament in March. The Sun Devils' first chance at redemption is a road match against UA.
Tipoff is scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Edited by Jack Barron, Abigail Beck and Katrina Michalak.
Reach the reporters at mseal6@asu.edu and follow @masonseal23 on X.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on X.
Mason is a freshman studying sports journalism. This is his second semester with The State Press. He has also worked for Inferno Intel and WCSN.
