Previously winless foe tops Sun Devils
ASU shoots 28.6% from the field in road loss
Arizona State women’s basketball’s seemingly endless offensive issues continued Sunday in a 67-55 loss at California.
ASU (10-9, 5-9 Pac-12) scored just eight points in the first quarter and 22 in the first half while shooting 28.6 percent overall in Berkeley.
Cal outscored the Sun Devils 15-1 in the late third and early fourth quarters to build a 50-34 lead and held on for its first win of the season. The Bears are 1-14, 1-11 Pac-12.
ASU won the first meeting vs. Cal 56-53 on Jan. 1 so the outcome is not entirely a surprise especially since the Bears pushed No. 10 Arizona on Friday in a 59-50 loss while the Sun Devils were crushed 80-41 by No. 6 Stanford.
ASU’s leading scorers Taya Hanson and Jaddan Simmons combined for only one point in the first half, which Cal led 26-22. They finished with a combined 27 (17 by Hanson) but many of those came too late after the Bears went up by 16 with 8:20 remaining.
Cal shot 48.8 percent and had a 2416 edge in paint points. Guard Leilani McIntosh of Phoenix scored a gamehigh 21 points, making all four of her 3-point tries. Evelien Lutje Schipholt and Mia Mastrov combined for 24 for Cal.
ASU led by five points (10-5) early in the second quarter and three (19-16) late in the second but could get no closer than one point in the second half. Cal maintained an eight-point or greater lead throughout the fourth quarter after scoring the first eight points of the period.
The Sun Devils play their regularseason finale at home on Feb. 28 against Arizona (15-2, 13-2), which is at Stanford on Monday. The Wildcats dominated the first meeting, 65-37 on Dec. 10.
The Pac-12 Tournament will be held March 3-7 in Las Vegas.
ASU’s leading scorers, Taya Hanson and Jaddan Simmons, combined for only one point in the first half.