Sun Devils keep Wildcats winless in conference play

(Photo Credit: Mauricio Casillas/WCSN)

In their third game in five days, the No. 11 Arizona State Sun Devils came away with another victory, this time over in-state rival Arizona, 60-34.

ASU came out sluggish in the first half, and at one point failed to score over a six-minute stretch. During that drought, Arizona went on a 9-2 to lead by as many as 10 points.

Wildcat senior forward Kama Griffitts led Arizona with 10 first half points, but the Sun Devils held her scoreless for the rest of the night.

“We took more perimeter shots than we would have liked,” redshirt senior guard Deja Mann said. “Going into halftime, we knew weren’t going to miss shots like that again.”

“I thought we were mentally not quite ourselves early on,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said.

Two quick three-point shots at the end of the first half from Mann and sophomore guard Elisha Davis brought the Sun Devils even going into the intermission.

“We believe in our shooters. We have great shooters on this team,” redshirt senior Joy Burke said. “We want them to shoot. That’s the goal.”

The second half was complete domination by ASU. They opened the half on a 12-2 run, and outscored the Wildcats 34-10 in the second half. The Sun Devils held Arizona without a field goal for the last 11 and a half minutes of the game.

“When the second half started, our defense got our offense going,” redshirt sophomore guard Katie Hempen said. “Which is what we always hope to go for, which is awesome.”

Hempen finished the night with 11 points and four assists.

“If we can do what we did (in the second half) for the rest of the season, well then we really are going to finish strong,” Turner Thorne said. “I think that’s what we haven’t done. We haven’t consistently played that great defense without fouling for 40 minutes.”

ASU’s past four wins came by a combined total of 10 points. The 24 point win is only the second double-digit victory for the Sun Devils in Pac-12 play.

“I couldn’t relax, even when we were up 18,” Turner Thorne said. “I’m not used to it.”

ASU remains second in the Pac-12, only behind No. 3 Stanford. They will get a few days off before heading to Tucson for their second game against the Wildcats on Sunday. The Sun Devils play five of their final seven games on the road.

“February and March is all about toughness and finishing strong,” Burke said.

You can reach Zac Pacleb on Twitter @ZacPacleb or via email at zacpacleb@gmail.com

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