Simmons, Hanson compliment another great defensive effort in @SunDevilWBB’s WNIT win

2020-21 WBB Stats | PDF Game Book: ASU 50, Missouri 39 (Mar. 20, 2021 WNIT | WNIT Consolation Bracket

FORT WORTH, Texas – Jaddan Simmons scored 12 of her game-high 18 points in the second half to help lead the Arizona State women's basketball team to a 50-39 win over Missouri in the Fort Worth consolation bracket of the 2021 Postseason WNIT.
 
Taya Hanson scored all 12 of her points from long distance and took over sole possession of fifth place in the program's record book for most 3-pointers in a single season with 65.
 
Simmons (11.0 ppg), the first Sun Devil freshman to average double figures in scoring since Jill Noe in 2002-03, also had a career-high seven rebounds and tied her career high with a game-high four steals.
 
Although ASU only trailed for a little more than two minutes on Saturday, the flow of the contest mimicked the game it lost to Rice 48-36 on Friday. Both contests were close for much of the first three quarters. ASU led by as many as five in the third quarter on Friday and went to the fourth quarter with a tenuous 31-30 lead. Rice would go on to outscore ASU 18-5 over the final 10 minutes to capture the win.
 
Against Missouri, ASU opened up an eight-point lead after Simmons' layup with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter. The Tigers would cut that deficit in half by the end of the quarter to get back within striking distance going to the final quarter.
 
After the Tigers pulled within three, Simmons (two free throws), Hanson (3-pointer) and Eboni Walker (layup) reeled off the game's next seven points to give ASU its first double-digit lead of the tournament, 40-30, with 7:07 remaining.
 
The Tigers pulled within eight on three different occasions, but ASU would not allow the Tigers to get any closer. Hanson's fourth triple of the game and a free throw by Simmons gave ASU its largest advantage of the game, 49-36 with 51 seconds remaining.
 
After accounting for all five of ASU's fourth-quarter points on Friday, Simmons (eight points) combined with Hanson (six points) to score 14 of ASU's 17 points over the final 10 minutes to secure the win.
 
The Sun Devils held the Tigers nearly 36 points below their 74.8 scoring average coming into Saturday's game. The Tigers had not scored fewer than 55 points in a game this season before going up against the Sun Devils, who held the opposition to 50 or fewer points for the seventh time this season.
 
The Sun Devils conclude their 2020-21 campaign on Monday (4 p.m. CDT/2 p.m. MST) when they take on Houston in the final consolation game of the Postseason WNIT Fort Worth Regional.