Sun Devil WBB unable to keep up with No. 2 Stanford

STANFORD, Calif. – Coming off a pair of hard-fought games and playing for only the fourth time in 37 days would be a challenging assignment for any team, no matter the opponent. The aforementioned elements described the Sun Devil women's basketball team's plight as it prepared to take on No. 2 and defending national champion Stanford on its home floor.
 
The Pac-12's only unbeaten team in league play, Stanford (15-3, 6-0 Pac-12) used a 52 percent shooting effort and a 44-10 advantage in paint points to win its seventh consecutive game, topping ASU 78-50 on Friday night.
 
The Sun Devils (9-7, 1-2) were paced in scoring by Jade Loville, who led all players with 19 points and surpassed 1,000 career points. Loville, who now has 1,015 career points – 775 as a member of Boise State and 240 points with ASU – reached the milestone after scoring ASU's first basket of the second quarter.
 
Three other Sun Devils – Jaddan Simmons (eight points), Taya Hanson (seven points) and Mael Gilles (seven points) – were all within a basket of reaching double figures in scoring and combined for 22 points.
 
The Sun Devils combined to shoot 44 percent in the second and fourth quarters and scored 34 of their points in those two frames. Unfortunately for ASU, its two most efficient quarters came on the heels of slow starts as it trailed Stanford 15-4 after one quarter and 60-29 after 30 minutes.
 
Despite the Cardinal's advantage in paint points, it was only plus-three in the battle of the boards (34-31). The Sun Devils actually had more offensive rebounds (11-9) than Stanford, but did not have the same success taking advantage of those opportunities as the Cardinal was plus-six in second chance points, 15-9. Jayde Van Hyfte led ASU's effort on the glass with five boards.
 
The Sun Devils (13-16 FTs) matched the Cardinal (13-17) in scoring from the charity stripe. Simmons (4-4), Van Hyfte (2-2), Gilles (2-2) and Katelyn Levings (2-2) combined to make all 10 of the free throws they attempted.
 
Although the Sun Devils are not scheduled to return to action until next weekend, there is a possibility they could play sooner if arrangements can be made for ASU to play a makeup contest. Counting their game at Cal that was originally scheduled to be played on Sunday, the Sun Devils have had seven Pac-12 games postponed due to Covid-19 protocols. After Friday's games, ASU is tied with Cal for the fewest conference games played thus far (three). More than half the teams in the league (seven) have played at least six games, while three other squads have played at least five conference contests.