TEMPE, Ariz. — Turnovers were the name of the game for the Utah women Wednesday night.
In a game featuring two teams separated by one game in the Big 12 standings and one spot in the NET rankings, it was Arizona State who used a smothering defense to frustrate Utah en route to a 71-61 win.
Utah committed 21 turnovers, gifting 16 points, and shot just 38% from the floor against an Arizona State (20-6, 7-6 Big 12) team who challenged every inch for the full 40 minutes of game time. As such, Utah was forced to change up its offensive strategy a bit on the road.
In an effort to find some offense, Utah (16-9, 7-6 Big 12) players committed to driving to the basket with the hopes of beating defenders one-on-one and drawing fouls to stay in the game. And for a time it worked, and Utah eventually tied up the game late in the third quarter before Arizona State jumped out to a game-high 9-point lead.
Even after the Sun Devils' near double-digit lead, the Utes fought back to make it a 4-point game. But it was the closest Utah could get as Arizona State held on to sweep the former Pac-12 foe on the season.
Arizona State had three players finish in double figures in a balanced scoring night for the team, with Gabby Elliott finishing with a game-high 19 points on three made 3-pointers and five rebounds and two assists.
McKinna Brackens got 14 points and six assists, while Heloisa Carrera added 12 points and five rebounds as a strong post presence for the Sun Devils.
Utah, too, had three players finish with double-digit scoring, but couldn't get much more out of its offense beyond those three.
Lani White led the Utes with 19 points and Maty Wilke added 17 points, with the two combining on five of the team's six 3-pointers on the night. Chyra Evans supplied an additional 11 points and nine rebounds, while Reese Ross added 11 rebounds to help Utah outrebound Arizona State 38-24.
