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Utah WBB Coughs Up Big 1st Half Lead, Falls 56-48 To Arizona State

After jumping out to a double digit lead early in the second quarter, Utah's offense completely came off the rails as the Utes fell 56-48 to visiting Arizona State on Friday

Ryan Kostecka

It's self discovery time for Utah.

After entering the season with high hopes and then elevating them after taking down No. 15 Oregon State 85-79 in their second game of the year, the Utes were riding high as a team about ready to break through in the Pac-12.

Those once high hopes have now been completely dashed over the past week as Utah has gone 0-2 with conference losses to Colorado and Arizona State. Their once high octane offense forgot to show up on Friday afternoon as the Utes fell 56-48 to the visiting Sun Devils

"We are just missing shots we normally hit, it just affects us in everything we do," head coach Lynne Roberts said. "Making shots is contagious, but missing shots is contagious as well. ... We missed so many layups in the third quarter. Everyone feels that pressure that they have to make this. ... We got good looks, we just didn't make them."

Sophomore point guard Dru Gylten was the lone bright spot on offense, finishing as the lone Ute in double figures with 13 points. She also added three assists and two rebounds before fouling out late in the fourth quarter. With Gylten gone, the offense had nobody to direct it and it showed as Utah failed to get a good look the rest of the game.

Brynna Maxwell, Utah's leading scorer at 14.8 points per game, was largely held in check by Arizona State's aggressive and physical defense — a staple of head coach Charlie Turner Thorne. She finished with just six points on 1-of-8 shooting, 0-for-6 from beyond the arc.

"Arizona State is incredibly physical, and it's hard to make shots when they're that physical.. ... But that's not an excuse," Roberts said. "She (Brynna) has to muscle up and buckle because there's not a single opponent that's going to do this. We tried to set her up today and she just didn't make shots like she normally does."

With the offense shooting just 30.4% (17-for-56) from the floor and 5.4% (1-for-19) from three-point territory, a lot of pressure fell on the defense to keep the Utes in the game. Fortunately, that side of the court responded as the Utes held Arizona State 25.8% (16-for-62) shooting from the floor and 20% (4-for-20) from beyond the arc.

Freshman Peyton McFarland in her first start was sensational down in the paint. She finished with a game-high nine rebounds while adding six blocks and five points.

"I was really proud of our defense. ... I thought we competed today." Roberts said. "Peyton was a force in her first career start. She does a nice job without fouling. It's nice to have that force who's also athletic and mobile. She's just a freshman, a puppy, but she's going to be a heck of a player for us.

Utah jumped out to an early 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter as Kemery Martin and Gylten got things going early. But then the offense sputtered over the next two quarters as the Utes scored just 17 points total in them.

Utah returns to action on Sunday when it hosts No. 6 Arizona on Sunday. Tipoff is set for 12 p.m. from the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

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Ryan Kostecka
RYAN KOSTECKA

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