(Photo: Travis Whittaker/WCSN)
No. 24 Arizona State lost to No. 4 Stanford 55-44 Sunday, in what was also the final regular-season game for both teams.
It was also the final home appearance for Sun Devil seniors Reili Richardson, Jamie Ruden, Robbi Ryan, Ja’Tavia Tapley and Kiara Russell.
Unfortunately for Russell, it was quite possibly her last game in a Sun Devil uniform regardless of venue. She left the game with a knee injury with 7:26 remaining in the first half. She returned to the bench in the second half on crutches, her leg straightened in a full size knee brace.
“Russell will be sidelined for most likely the rest of the season,” ASU coach Charli Turner Thorne said, who predicted but did not confirm the actual injury. “Who knows, I’ve had a few players play on ACLs before.”
The Sun Devils have won before without Russell, when they defeated the eventual PAC-12 regular season champion Oregon Ducks on Jan. 10.
Arizona State fought hard against Stanford but “lacked execution” and was matched up with one of the tallest teams in the Pac-12. Stanford’s forwards Francesca Belibi and Lexi Hull along with point guard Kiana Williams combined for 44 of Stanford’s 55 total points. Belibi standing at 6’1 dominated the day with 18 points and 9 boards. 6’0” Hull dropped 13 points on three 3-pointers, and Williams standing at a measly 5′ 8” added 13 of her own.
While Stanford’s front court took care of business, ASU was coming off an adverse week. According to Turner Thorne, sophomore guard Iris Mbulito was also hit by a golf cart earlier this week, unable to practice and played in Sunday’s game with six stitches in her knee.
“Iris has been playing great, she just wasn’t herself today,” said Turner Thorne. “Many players weren’t at 100 percent.”
Ryan was the only player on ASU to score in double figures with 13 points, the next top scorers were Jamie Ruden and Eboni Walker who each scored 7 points.
The team still played stifling defense keeping Stanford 17 points below their season scoring average of 68. But ASU was undersized and bullied down low as Stanford outrebounded the Sun Devils 42 to 33.
“The difference in the game was we got outrebounded, we had some defensive lapses and offensively we shot way below our averages,” said Jamie Ruden. “We can’t make excuses about size anymore, we need to box out.”
The effort was there but the shooting was not. The team shot 28.1 percent from the field and 21.4 percent from three. The team will need to iron out the wrinkles in their offensive attack and rebounding approach as they prepare for the PAC-12 tournament which starts Thursday.
If the team is rolling, they could play potential spoiler to top seeds such as Oregon and UCLA in the tournament.
“We’ve got a lot of basketball left.” said Ruden. “We’re excited.”
Wherever this season ends will pail in comparison the holes that will be left behind in the senior class. They have led the Sun Devils to 84 wins, three NCAA tournament appearances, and a Sweet Sixteen birth in 2019.
ASU is the five seed going into the PAC-12 Tournament. They will play against a familiar foe in No. 12 Cal Berkeley on Thursday at 11:30 AM PT at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas.
