PHOENIX – Pretty much anyone who has played and/or coached at the highest level of athletics would agree that momentum can sometimes play a big role in determining the outcome of a contest. Afterall, there is a reason for the expression, 'saved by the bell.'
For the Sun Devil women's basketball team, one could make the argument that its opponent was saved by the… 'halftime horn,' on Thursday in its 70-59 loss to Grand Canyon University in Thursday's Hall of Fame Series Phoenix contest played at Footprint Center, home of professional basketball's Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury.
The Sun Devils (1-2) scored nine of the first 12 points and led 23-13 after 10 minutes. They led by 12 points with fewer than 90 seconds remaining in the first half and were up by nine when the aforementioned halftime horn sounded.
When play resumed in the third quarter, the same two teams were still on the floor. But something changed. Before they knew it, the Sun Devils were on the wrong end of a 14-4 run over the first 5:21 of the third quarter. Neither team led by more than a point for the remainder of the third quarter.
An 8-0 burst by GCU to start the fourth quarter proved to be too much separation for the Sun Devils to overcome as they were outscored 15-5 in the final 10 minutes. For the Sun Devils, it was a 180-degree turnaround given it was them who enjoyed a 10-point lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
Sun Devil head coach Natasha Adair following the game: "I felt like in the first half, things were moving. We were playing some defense and I just felt like in the second half, there were key rotations where we over helped. We just talked to [the team] about putting together 40 minutes and not 20."
Tyi Skinner led ASU with 15 points while Kennedy Basham had her second double-double in as many games with 10 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and three blocks. Jyah LoVett added 10 points for the Sun Devils, who shot 41 percent in the first half and 25 percent in the second half.
After scoring 14 points off 11 GCU turnovers in the first half, the Sun Devils, who have been excellent with taking care of the basketball the last two seasons, were undone by 14 turnovers in the second half. Like ASU did over the first 20 minutes, GCU took full advantage of the extra opportunities, scoring 15 points off ASU's miscues in the second half.
"I think on offense, there were some key turnovers we made that activated them in transition," Adair said. "I thought we were trying to thread the needle a little bit instead of keeping the floor spread where it was really beneficial. We opened the first half up with our motion offense, turned the ball a couple of times and then got wide open looks. I thought we were a little antsy in the second half. I didn't think we were as patient offensively."
The Sun Devils got 20 points from their bench, which was helped by Maggie Besselink, who played for the first time this season.
Also making her 2024-25 debut was Jazion Jackson, who went over 1,000 career points on Thursday.
ASU continued to do an excellent job at the line where it hit 80 percent of its attempts (16-20).
The Sun Devils will play back-to-back games this weekend – vs. SMU at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and vs. Oregon State at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday – as part of the annual Briann January Classic.
For the Sun Devil women's basketball team, one could make the argument that its opponent was saved by the… 'halftime horn,' on Thursday in its 70-59 loss to Grand Canyon University in Thursday's Hall of Fame Series Phoenix contest played at Footprint Center, home of professional basketball's Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury.
The Sun Devils (1-2) scored nine of the first 12 points and led 23-13 after 10 minutes. They led by 12 points with fewer than 90 seconds remaining in the first half and were up by nine when the aforementioned halftime horn sounded.
When play resumed in the third quarter, the same two teams were still on the floor. But something changed. Before they knew it, the Sun Devils were on the wrong end of a 14-4 run over the first 5:21 of the third quarter. Neither team led by more than a point for the remainder of the third quarter.
An 8-0 burst by GCU to start the fourth quarter proved to be too much separation for the Sun Devils to overcome as they were outscored 15-5 in the final 10 minutes. For the Sun Devils, it was a 180-degree turnaround given it was them who enjoyed a 10-point lead after the first 10 minutes of play.
Sun Devil head coach Natasha Adair following the game: "I felt like in the first half, things were moving. We were playing some defense and I just felt like in the second half, there were key rotations where we over helped. We just talked to [the team] about putting together 40 minutes and not 20."
Tyi Skinner led ASU with 15 points while Kennedy Basham had her second double-double in as many games with 10 points, a game-high 13 rebounds and three blocks. Jyah LoVett added 10 points for the Sun Devils, who shot 41 percent in the first half and 25 percent in the second half.
After scoring 14 points off 11 GCU turnovers in the first half, the Sun Devils, who have been excellent with taking care of the basketball the last two seasons, were undone by 14 turnovers in the second half. Like ASU did over the first 20 minutes, GCU took full advantage of the extra opportunities, scoring 15 points off ASU's miscues in the second half.
"I think on offense, there were some key turnovers we made that activated them in transition," Adair said. "I thought we were trying to thread the needle a little bit instead of keeping the floor spread where it was really beneficial. We opened the first half up with our motion offense, turned the ball a couple of times and then got wide open looks. I thought we were a little antsy in the second half. I didn't think we were as patient offensively."
The Sun Devils got 20 points from their bench, which was helped by Maggie Besselink, who played for the first time this season.
Also making her 2024-25 debut was Jazion Jackson, who went over 1,000 career points on Thursday.
ASU continued to do an excellent job at the line where it hit 80 percent of its attempts (16-20).
The Sun Devils will play back-to-back games this weekend – vs. SMU at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday and vs. Oregon State at 2:30 p.m. on Sunday – as part of the annual Briann January Classic.