Despite Hanson’s big second half, Sun Devil WBB falls at Cal

BERKELEY, Calif. – On New Year's Day, junior Taya Hanson scored a career-high 21 points and tied a school record with seven 3-pointers in ASU's come-from-behind 56-53 win over Cal. On Sunday, Hanson did her best to repeat history.  Despite Hanson scoring all 17 of her points in the second half – including five 3-pointers – the Sun Devil women's basketball team was not able to duplicate its comeback heroics in a 67-55 loss at Cal on Sunday.
 
Jaddan Simmons added 10 points and Maggie Besselink and Jamie Loera scored six points each for the Sun Devils (10-9, 4-9 Pac-12), who made eight 3-pointers in the loss.
 
Eboni Walker led ASU in rebounds with seven, while Hanson, Simmons and Katelyn Levings added five boards apiece. The battle of the boards ended in a stalemate as both teams had 37 rebounds.
 
For the second straight game, the Sun Devils did an excellent job of taking care of the ball as they had a season-low nine turnovers after having only 12 miscues in Friday's loss at Stanford. Simmons paced ASU with a game-high four assists.
 
The difference in the game came down to shooting as the Sun Devils shot 29 percent from the floor and 55 percent from the free throw line (11-20). On the other end, Cal made 48 percent of its shots and was 79 percent from the line (22-28).
 
Cal (1-14, 1-11) was led in scoring by LeiLani McIntosh, who had a game-high 21 points.
 
The Sun Devils conclude regular season action next Sunday (12 p.m. MST) when they host Arizona. The program will honor senior Bre'yanna Sanders as part of Senior Day festivities.