Junior Elisha Davis takes to the air for two points Friday night against Utah. The Sun Devils would go on to win the game 45-42 over the Utes on Feb. 27, 2015 at the Wells Fargo
Arena in Tempe. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)
No. 10 ASU made just 15 field goals in a tight 46-42 victory over Utah in Tempe Friday night.
“We do ugly,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “We have no problem doing ugly and we did ugly today.”
In the first half, ASU shot 20 percent and made five shots. Many of their 19 misses came from free throws rolling off the rim.
In one instance, it was a wide-open junior guard Elisha Davis drive that rolled around the rim, practically into the net, and then fell off the front of the rim. Another time, it was a fast break and senior guard Promise Amukamara would miss the layup.
With about 3:00 remaining in the half, ASU had missed 14 consecutive shots. At that time, they were shooting below 18 percent from the field.
There’s not a way one could say that ASU’s offense was ever strong during the game, but it was passable in the remaining minute and a half when ASU added six points to its total. Going into the half, ASU trailed 24-18.
“I don’t know what we were doing in the first half on offense but it wasn’t anything that we wanted to do,” Turner Thorne said.
The second half began the same way the first ended. Amukamara missed a layup. Sophomore forward Sophie Brunner turned the ball over. Amukamara got blocked on a layup.
Utah jumped to an eight-point lead, then 10, then pushed it to 12 on a layup from junior guard Danielle Rodriguez with 13:41 in the game.
Rodriguez is one of Utah’s better players. Two of ASU’s bench players got the job done to take over the game.
A loose ball went out of bounds against Utah and junior guard Peace Amukamara hit a three on the following possession. She was playing extremely aggressively throughout the game; she drove to the hoop often and didn’t hesitate before shooting.
“If it’s there I take it,” Amukamara said. “I don’t force it.”
Peace finished with nine points, the second-most for ASU.
Ayanna “Shaq” Edwards was the other player that blew up off the bench. She has seen more minutes since sophomore forward Kelsey Moos went down with an injury and she has gained confidence.
“Ever since the Oregon State game we played, I’ve had this sort of confidence that I know what to do and how to play people,” Edwards said.
Moos was back in the lineup today, but most her offensive time was spent around the perimeter. She came in with a 10- to 15-minute limit and played seven total off the bench.
“I knew she was going to play great defense and rebound, but our issue was obviously scoring,” Turner Thorne said.
Edwards was the surprise to come through in her spot. In 13 minutes, she put up two points, grabbed four rebounds and went to the free throw line twice. She also drew a charge and had an athletic block on the 6’4 freshman center Joseta Fatuesi.
Fatuesi caused ASU trouble in the first half. Dornstauder was unable to guard her and was knocked down multiple times. Edwards has learned how to play against Fatuesi, though; she said the two have played since eighth grade and have formed what Edwards called a “little rivalry.”
Edwards said Fatuesi isn’t fast so she doesn’t allow her to back down.
Junior guard Peace Amukamara is greeted by her teammates as she returns to the bench during Friday's game. The Sun Devils would go on to win the game 45-42 over the Utes. on Feb. 27, 2015 at the Wells Fargo Arena in Tempe. (J. Bauer-Leffler/The State Press)“My team calls me a brick wall because if you run into me you’re going to fall back,” she said with big eyes and a straight face. “I’m not going to move… she won’t go through me which means she won’t go to the basket.”
ASU took its first lead of the game with 4:30 minutes left when Davis faked going around a Brunner screen, drove right and made a layup. ASU went up by three before senior guard Cheyenne Wilson tied the game with a triple.
This was Utah’s first field goal in 11 minutes. It was the first since Rodriguez put them up by 12.
ASU’s defense was important during this stretch, but their stamina also played a factor. Utah, the far more energetic team going into the second half, playing with more toughness and playing smarter, had hit a wall.
“That’s all we were talking about,” Turner Thorne said. “They (were) getting tired, they don’t have much of a bench… I thought that really showed the last three, four minutes of the game when we just turned them over.”
Redshirt junior guard Katie Hempen iced the game with a free throw and ASU won 46-42. Standing at 25-4, the school is tied for third-most regular season wins in program history.
Turner Thorne said that while ASU doesn’t possess the star power some schools have, they’re as good as anyone.
“Collectively, I think we’re one of the best teams in the country,” she said.
Reach the reporter atlogan.newman@asu.eduor follow@Logan_Newsmanon Twitter.
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