EUGENE, Ore. – A tough fourth quarter denied the Sun Devil women's basketball team of its second Top 25 win of the season as the Sun Devils fell to No. 19 Oregon 72-58 on Tuesday.
Mael Gilles came through with one of her best all-around games of the season with team highs in points (15), rebounds (7) and assists (career high-tying 5 assists). The Sun Devils (9-8, 1-3 Pac-12), who were playing for just the fifth time in the last 41 days, also received significant contributions from Jaddan Simmons (9 points, team-high 4 assists) and Jade Loville, Jayde Van Hyfte and Katelyn Levings, who added eight points each. Gilles (5-8 FGs/62.5 pct), Simmons (4-7/57.1 pct), Van Hyfte (3-3 FGs/1.000) and Levings (4-8 FGs/50 pct) all had strong shooting performances as the quartet combined to shoot 61.5 percent (16-26) from the floor.
For the Sun Devils, the game was ultimately decided in the first and fourth quarters as they were outscored by a combined 45-25 in the two frames. ASU managed to make only 33 percent (8-24 FGs) of its shots during those 20 minutes, while the Ducks connected on 62.5 percent (15-24 FGs) of their shots during the same stretch.
Given what it was up against – a road game against the No. 19 team in the country after dropping its last two contests and still trying to shake off the rust that came from the aforementioned long period of inactivity – the Sun Devils responded with an admirable effort.
After scoring four points in the opening stanza in each of their last two games, the Sun Devils immediately jumped on the Ducks. A 3-pointer by Taya Hanson, who led ASU with as career high-tying five steals, a layup from Simmons and a layup by Van Hyfte helped ASU get out to a 7-0 lead a little more than two minutes into the game.
The Ducks (14-5, 6-1 Pac-12) answered by scoring the game's next 17 points and would end up leading 22-13 after one quarter.
Facing their second double-digit deficit of the game (28-17) midway through the second quarter, the Sun Devils showed their competitive fire was far from being extinguished. Gilles scored five straight points to ignite a 13-5 ASU run over the last five minutes of the half. Near the end of the quarter, Loville, ASU's leading scorer and No. 5 in the Pac-12 in scoring coming into the game, hit a triple to cut Oregon's lead to 33-30 at the break.
The momentum went back and forth in the third quarter. After Gilles scored the first basket of the second half to pull the Sun Devils within a single point, the Ducks accounted for the game's next nine points to once again take a double-digit advantage, 42-32.
Still down by 10 midway through the third quarter, the Sun Devils staged another rally, ending the quarter with a 10-3 flurry to make it a three-point game headed into the final 10 minutes.
While the Sun Devils struggled to hit their shots, the Ducks slowly built their lead: five points a minute into the quarter, six to seven points over the next three minutes. And finally, back to an 11-point advantage midway through the quarter. The Sun Devils would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The Sun Devils return home to host Oregon State on Friday at 6 p.m. MST (Pac-12 Network, Arizona, Oregon/KDUS AM 1060) before taking on the Ducks for the second time in less than a week on Sunday at 2 p.m. MST (Pac-12 Network, Arizona, Oregon/KDUS AM 1060). Sunday's game vs. Oregon will be ASU's annual Pink Game for Breast Cancer Awareness.
Mael Gilles came through with one of her best all-around games of the season with team highs in points (15), rebounds (7) and assists (career high-tying 5 assists). The Sun Devils (9-8, 1-3 Pac-12), who were playing for just the fifth time in the last 41 days, also received significant contributions from Jaddan Simmons (9 points, team-high 4 assists) and Jade Loville, Jayde Van Hyfte and Katelyn Levings, who added eight points each. Gilles (5-8 FGs/62.5 pct), Simmons (4-7/57.1 pct), Van Hyfte (3-3 FGs/1.000) and Levings (4-8 FGs/50 pct) all had strong shooting performances as the quartet combined to shoot 61.5 percent (16-26) from the floor.
For the Sun Devils, the game was ultimately decided in the first and fourth quarters as they were outscored by a combined 45-25 in the two frames. ASU managed to make only 33 percent (8-24 FGs) of its shots during those 20 minutes, while the Ducks connected on 62.5 percent (15-24 FGs) of their shots during the same stretch.
Given what it was up against – a road game against the No. 19 team in the country after dropping its last two contests and still trying to shake off the rust that came from the aforementioned long period of inactivity – the Sun Devils responded with an admirable effort.
After scoring four points in the opening stanza in each of their last two games, the Sun Devils immediately jumped on the Ducks. A 3-pointer by Taya Hanson, who led ASU with as career high-tying five steals, a layup from Simmons and a layup by Van Hyfte helped ASU get out to a 7-0 lead a little more than two minutes into the game.
The Ducks (14-5, 6-1 Pac-12) answered by scoring the game's next 17 points and would end up leading 22-13 after one quarter.
Facing their second double-digit deficit of the game (28-17) midway through the second quarter, the Sun Devils showed their competitive fire was far from being extinguished. Gilles scored five straight points to ignite a 13-5 ASU run over the last five minutes of the half. Near the end of the quarter, Loville, ASU's leading scorer and No. 5 in the Pac-12 in scoring coming into the game, hit a triple to cut Oregon's lead to 33-30 at the break.
The momentum went back and forth in the third quarter. After Gilles scored the first basket of the second half to pull the Sun Devils within a single point, the Ducks accounted for the game's next nine points to once again take a double-digit advantage, 42-32.
Still down by 10 midway through the third quarter, the Sun Devils staged another rally, ending the quarter with a 10-3 flurry to make it a three-point game headed into the final 10 minutes.
While the Sun Devils struggled to hit their shots, the Ducks slowly built their lead: five points a minute into the quarter, six to seven points over the next three minutes. And finally, back to an 11-point advantage midway through the quarter. The Sun Devils would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way.
The Sun Devils return home to host Oregon State on Friday at 6 p.m. MST (Pac-12 Network, Arizona, Oregon/KDUS AM 1060) before taking on the Ducks for the second time in less than a week on Sunday at 2 p.m. MST (Pac-12 Network, Arizona, Oregon/KDUS AM 1060). Sunday's game vs. Oregon will be ASU's annual Pink Game for Breast Cancer Awareness.