Despite shooting poorly the entire weekend, ASU women's basketball (5-2) was able to salvage a third-place finish in the 2019 Gulf Coast Showcase.
Friday
ASU’s weekend started off well on Friday night, as it manhandled an outmatched Maine (2-6) team, defeating them 57-31. The game was close early, but the Sun Devils eventually pulled away thanks in large part to a 17-2 run in the third quarter.
Sophomore guard Taya Hanson was the only Sun Devil to reach double figures, as she finished with 13 points on the night.
ASU’s victory set up a matchup with an undefeated Purdue (6-0) on Saturday night in the semifinals of the tournament.
Saturday
ASU jumped on the Boilermakers early, getting their lead as high as 10 points in the first half. The lead didn’t last though, as Purdue was able to capitalize on a stagnant Sun Devil offense that really couldn’t score consistently for the majority of the game.
Purdue staved off its first defeat winning 59-52 to advance to the championship of the 2019 Gulf Coast Showcase.
Given the percentages ASU shot, they were lucky to have been as close as they were. The Sun Devils shot a putrid 28% from the floor coupled with 19% from three.
The one positive for the Sun Devils on offense was their ability to get to the line consistently. On Saturday, ASU got up a healthy 26 attempts but only converted on 15 them.
The loss meant ASU would face off with Middle Tennessee (5-3) in the third-place game on Sunday night.
Sunday
Sunday’s contest was the closest of the bunch as senior guard Robbi Ryan made two free throws with 29 seconds left to give ASU the narrow 61-60 victory over Middle Tennessee.
Ryan was ASU’s best player on Sunday as she finished with 13 points on the night on 5-11 from the floor.
For the third consecutive night, ASU struggled to create efficient offense, shooting 37% from the field and 14% from three.
In the last two games of the tournament, the Sun Devils shot a dismal 5-30 from beyond the three-point arc.
With the competition begins to increase with Pac-12 play nearing, ASU will have to improve their shooting accuracy to stay in games against superior competition.
Next up, Charli Turner Thorne's squad will face off with BYU (3-2) on Friday, Dec. 6, at 6 p.m. MST.
Reach the reporter at ltochter@asu.edu and follow @Leo_Toch on Twitter.
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