After close contests in the two regular season meetings between Arizona and ASU, it wasn’t a matter of whether the opening round of the Big 12 Women’s Basketball Tournament would be close, but rather who would come out on top. It was a back and forth battle between the Wildcats and Sun Devils, but Becky Burke’s squad couldn’t get the job done, falling 54-51 in Kansas City.
“When I look at the game and I look at the fact that we held them to 54 points, I think I would assume we win nine times out of 10, with defending that way and holding them, maybe to their season low,” said Burke postgame. “But this year’s just been a really, really big year of just really close games and lessons for us. And it’s been hard. It’s been really, really hard. But we’ve competed. We haven’t quit. We haven’t given up.”
Three Wildcats finished in double figures, led by Sumayah Sugapong and Daniah Trammell, who each scored 12 points. Sugapong connected on 4-13 from the field, including 2-7 from beyond the arc. She also grabbed six rebounds and stole the ball away twice. The freshman Trammell had a more efficient outing from the floor, shooting 6-14. Senior guard Noelani Cornfield, who alongside Sugapong played all 40 minutes, finished with 10 points, four assists, and two on 3-8 shooting and 4-4 from the free throw line.
Nora Francois finished with a team-high seven rebounds and three blocks, but fouled out of the game and was ejected after picking up two flagrant fouls. The first came in the first half after ASU’s Marley Washenitz complained to the officials, causing them to review it. The second came with 8:49 to play, and while it was already her fifth foul already, the upgrade sent her to the locker room to finish out the game. The three made free throws off the two flagrant fouls were the difference in the game for the Wildcats.
It wasn’t the only time officiating impact the game for Arizona. The clock operator also incorrectly reset the shot clock for the Sun Devils twice, neither of which the officiating crew noticed.
Heloisa Carerra led the Sun Devils with 16 points, the only ASU player in double figures. Arizona held Gabby Elliot to four points, but all nine of the Sun Devils’ players made their way into the box score.
Arizona opened the first quarter with strong offensive play, but it wouldn’t last. The Wildcats shot 37.3 percent from the field and went 3-15 from beyond the arc. The Sun Devils hit 40.4% of its shots from the field, but connected on just 16.7 percent from deep and 50% from the free throw line.
The UA opened the game on a 10-2 run, but ASU responded with 9-0 run of its own to take an 11-10 lead, its first of the game. The Sun Devils led by as many as four in the first quarter, but a triple from Molly Ladwig with 39 seconds left in the first cut the deficit to one heading to the second.
The offense slowed for both teams in the second quarter, but ASU was able to extend its lead to as many as six points. But Arizona responded, as Sumayah Sugapong connected on two 3-point shots to keep the score within one at halftime, trailing 29-28.
Things were back and forth in the third quarter, which saw four ties and four lead changes, with ASU clinging to a 42-40 lead after 30 minutes of play. Adde Adebanjo gave the Wildcats a 51-50 lead with 2:51 to play in the fourth quarter, but it was the final time Arizona would see the ball go through the net.
With 8.2 seconds left to play, Becky Burke’s group had a chance to send the second game in as many contests against ASU to overtime. The Wildcats inbounded the ball to Sugapong, who had a chance to tie it with a 3-pointer, but passed up the shot to Trammell. The freshman, who was just 0-4 from 3-point range entering the game, was more open but couldn’t connect on the game-tying bucket with time expiring.
Burke credited ASU’s physicality and highlighted its size for disrupting the Wildcats’ final shot attempt.
“We didn’t do a good enough job handling their physicality on that last possession. That’s something that we’ve had trouble with the last couple times we’ve played them.”
Burke added, “we know ASU is really physical. Baseline out of bounds. Sideline out of bounds. That’s something that we are a little bit smaller. We are a little bit undersized compared to them. So they really give us a hard time trying to get the basketball in and get to our spots.”
Becky Burke’s first year in Tucson comes to an end with a 12-18 record, going 3-15 in conference play. While it’s possible Arizona could receive an invitation to the WNIT, Burke told media on Tuesday she remains uncertain if the Wildcats would accept if offered.