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ASU Basketball: Sun Devils struggle against Stanford

By James Malamas

LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 09: Arizona State Sun Devils mascot Sparky the Sun Devil performs during the team's quarterfinal game of the Pac-12 Basketball Tournament against the Oregon Ducks T-Mobile Arena on March 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Oregon won 80-57. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) /
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ASU women’s basketball struggled mightily on Sunday evening, leading to a 21-point loss on the road against Stanford.

The 17th-ranked Arizona State Sun Devils looked to bounce back against No. 7 Stanford after suffering an upset loss against California just two days before. The Sun Devils were unable and fell by the score of 71-50.

It was not a good day in any facet for the Sun Devils. They struggled on both the defensive and offensive side of the floor.

Only shooting 30 percent as a team and 25 percent from behind the arc, the Sun Devil offense had no answers to Stanford’s excellent defense. ASU’s offense was very stagnant at times; The only person moving would be the one with the ball, and it made it difficult to get any good looks.

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The inside was controlled by Stanford’s bigs, who gave up no easy buckets. The Cardinal tallied five total blocks while the Sun Devils were unable to record one of their own.

Not only did they control the paint, they controlled the glass as well. Stanford out-rebounded Arizona State 33-23. ASU was able corral nine offensive boards compared to Stanford’s four, but the defensive glass was owned by Stanford. They outnumbered the Sun Devils 29-14.

It was Senior Night for Stanford and their star senior, Alanna Smith, did not disappoint. Smith scored 14 points on 5-of-9 shooting and went 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. She contributed in more ways than just scoring, as she also had two blocks, two steals, three assists and four rebounds.

Although Smith had a stat-stuffing evening, it was Kiana Williams who led the Cardinal in scoring. Williams scored 15 points and was a threat from behind the arc, draining 3 three-pointers.

For Arizona State, there were not a lot of positives throughout the entire game. Their leading scorer was Courtney Ekmark, who only had 10 points. Ekmark had trouble shooting from the field, only going 1-of-7. She did the majority of her damage from the free throw line, where she went 7-of-7.

Ekmark also fouled out of the game a little more than halfway through the fourth quarter.

One good takeaway for the Sun Devils is that they were able to force Stanford to commit 16 turnovers. Unfortunately, they were not able to capitalize off of them.

This is the second loss in a row for Arizona State, and it is coming at the wrong time. A team that is trying to secure a first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament and being able to host a home game in the NCAA Tournament, ASU may have just lost both of those hopes.

Next week will not get any easier for the Sun Devils as they have to host No. 2 Oregon and No. 12 Oregon State in their last series of the season. There is a possibility that ASU will go into the conference tournament on a four-game losing streak with no momentum.

This upcoming weekend may be the most important week of the season for the Sun Devils. Even if they only win one game against the Oregon schools, that will be a big success right before the season ends.

Next. ASU Basketball: Poor shooting second half costs Devils at Cal. dark

Arizona State will host Oregon State on Friday, and then Senior Day for the Sun Devils will be on Sunday, as the highly-talented Oregon Ducks will come to town for the last game of the season.