Arizona State women’s basketball was in danger of being blown out by No. 9 UCLA midway through the second quarter Sunday.

But the Sun Devils refused to cave to fatigue and inexperience.

Instead, after losing starting guard Iris Mbulito to a shoulder injury after making a diving steal, they rallied from 17 points down to push the Bruins to the wire at Desert Financial Arena.

UCLA (2-1, 1-1 Pac-12) won 63-59 but only after freshman Maggie Besselink, in her ASU debut, stepped out of bounds while driving for a potential game-tying basket. 

The Sun Devils had to take five fouls, eating up 11 seconds, before getting UCLA to the free throw line with 3.3 seconds left where Charisma Osborne hit two clinching free throws.

ASU (4-1, 1-1) lost a 10th consecutive game to UCLA, again by single digits like eight of the nine previous defeats. But the Sun Devils showed they can play with an elite team, something they will see plenty of in the Pac-12, which has five teams in the national top 20.

“Imagine when we get more time together and really evolve and don’t have three games in seven days during finals,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “This bodes really well. We have a great vibe. This team plays hard and cares about each other. The things we’re not doing now like boxing out we’ll get better at. Some of it will take time and knowing what we’re looking for on the offensive end of the floor.

“This team has a chance to be really, really good.”

Corsaro’s treys are deciding factor 

Sydnei Caldwell and Eboni Walker hit 3-pointers before and after Mbulito’s injury as part a 7-0 run that cut UCLA’s lead to 10.

The Bruins still were up 35-26 at halftime, but ASU erased all of that in the third quarter, pulling even at 47 on a Taya Hanson trey with 50 seconds left.

In the fourth quarter, the Sun Devils led 53-50 at 4:53 when Walker hit a hook on a three-shot possession. 

The game ultimately tilted in UCLA’s favor on a trio of 3-pointers by junior guard Lindsey Corsaro, the last of which at 1:08 put the Bruins ahead 61-57.

Turner Thorne said defensive focus on Bruins stars Michaela Onyenwere and Osborne “bit us in the butt at the end. We overhelped some and left her wide open a couple times in a row.

“The biggest thing we did was take away their transition. We boxed out better at times and took away second opportunities, but we have to do that and not leave people wide open.”

Corsaro and Osborne had 14 points apiece and Onyenwere, a national Player of the Year candidate, only 10. 

Walker led ASU with 12 and freshman Jaddan Simmons added 10 on top of her 20-point game Friday vs. USC. But Simmons was knocked down with 25.9 seconds left and out of the game when Besselink got the ball out of a timeout at 14.6 seconds.

“We were playing without our point guard,” Turner Thorne said. “We had a few options. Maggie thought she could take her. She might have been shoved, but you’re not getting the call at the end of the game. 

“Maggie has an amazing first outing after being out three months (due to ankle surgery) and practicing like 20 minutes. In hindsight, should you put her in that situation, but that’s how she is. She’s a big-time player.”

The 6-3 Besselink had three points and a team-high six rebounds in almost 20 minutes.

“Of course, I had jitters,” she said. “The team talked me through everything. I felt confident in what they were saying. I might have stepped out of bounds. It was a very physical game, I could have been pushed, but they called out of bounds.”

Fellow freshman Katelyn Levings said Besselink “came out firing and had a big role in this game. She helped spark us to start playing and contributed a lot.”

Turner Thorne picks up technical

Turner Thorne picked up a rare-for-her technical foul at 7:20 of the first quarter as UCLA broke out to an 8-0 lead.

“I wanted to have their back,” she said. “I don’t like getting technical fouls. I yelled they needed to blow their whistles or someone was going to get hurt and somebody did (Mbulito). I respect the officials, they’re doing the best they can. But I saw a lot of moving screens and people getting clipped.”

Mbulito appeared to injure her left shoulder and was wearing a sling on her left arm while watching the second half. Her injury status is to be determined.

UCLA led 39-30 in rebounds, pulling 17 offensive boards to fuel a 17-5 edge in second-chance points. The Bruins only dressed eight players while ASU played 12. 

At halftime, UCLA was 16-of-19 on free throws compared to ASU’s 8-of-12. That evened out in the second half with the Bruins finished 18-of-21 and the Sun Devils 12-of-19.

“One thing about this team, we heave heart and we have pride,” Walker said. “We do what we do and never take things as a loss. It’s a win for us to see we’re this close,” to a top-10 team. “If we cut down on the little things, we’re right there.”

Up next

ASU is at No. 7 Arizona (3-0, 2-0) on Thursday. The Wildcats edge USC 78-77 on Sunday after beating UCLA 68-65 on Friday. 

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or 602-444-8053. Follow him on Twitter @jeffmetcalfe.

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