ASU Women’s Basketball: Devils dispatch Miami, make Sweet 16 behind Ryan’s clutch defense

(Photo: Brady Klain/WCSN)

The Arizona State women’s basketball team has suffered numerous crushing losses this season where the team either held an advantage in the second half or was within striking distance down the stretch. The No. 5 Sun Devils found themselves in a similar situation on Sunday during their second-round NCAA Tournament matchup against the Miami Hurricanes.

With the score at a 55-55 deadlock inside the final 10 seconds and Miami with possession, the game had all the makings of becoming ASU’s most heart-shattering loss of the season.

Instead, Robbi Ryan made the play of the game, and maybe the season, for the Devils by stealing the ball on a Miami sideline inbounds play. Ryan was fouled on the fast break and sunk two clutch free-throws to put the Devils ahead. Arizona State hung on to defeat Miami 57-55 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2015.

After dispatching No. 12 UCF handily in the first round, the task was a lot tougher against the No. 4 Miami Hurricanes, playing in front of a home crowd of supporters. This was the furthest the Sun Devils traveled all season for a true road game and the over 2,000 fans at the Watco Center created a hostile environment throughout.

Despite the distance and crowd, the Devils exploded out of the gate like a wound-up racehorse at Churchill Downs. A Robbi Ryan three highlighted a 9-2 start for the Maroon and Gold, and Arizona State would lead by seven points at the end of the first quarter.

Ryan had often been a key cog in the Sun Devil offense throughout the season, but tonight may have been her best all-around performance of the season. The junior guard scored nine points with two assists, but the number that stands out on her stat-line are three steals that gave the Devils opportunities to score in transition.

In the second quarter however, Miami turned the game around with an offensive burst of their own. Spearheaded by the offensive-rebounding vacuum that was Beatrice Mompremier, the Hurricanes outscored the Devils 18-7 in the second quarter.

Mompremier would end up with 22 total rebounds and two blocks, entering the record books at number six all-time in total rebounds in a single NCAA tournament game. That mark is just five boards short of the single-game record of 27 set by Texas A&M’s Anriel Howard in 2016.

Miami would start the second half on a 6-0 run due to the continued presence of Mompremier down low. Mompremier saw her job get much easier after an elbow injury to senior Charnea Johnson-Chapman sidelined her for the better part of the second half.

With the Hurricanes threatening to take control of the contest, the Devils battled back, aided by two Courtney Ekmark three-pointers. While those three-pointers were her only points of the night, the importance of them cannot be understated, as they kept the Devils afloat in the third.

Jamie Ruden knocked down an early fourth quarter triple to even the score at 43 apiece. The junior forward was nothing short of spectacular off the bench for ASU, as she had a team-high 10 points, six of them coming in the closing stretch.  

Laura Cornelius had a game-high 15 points for Miami, and allowed Miami to keep pace with a surging Arizona State squad in the fourth quarter. Emese Hof scored points five and six on two free-throws that knotted the game up at 53-53.

That is where the game got down to the few shots that would define the season for either side. Sophia Elenga, in for the inured Johnson-Chapman, missed wildly on a pull-up jumper with 2:44 left. But less than a minute later, she would get almost the exact same look and would connect to give the Devils a 55-53 lead.

Cornelius would get a layup off a Miami timeout to tie the game once again, and ASU forced a miss after a tough take by Mompremier. With 35 ticks left on the game-clock, the Devils had a chance for the go-ahead bucket.

Robbi Ryan got the look she wanted, and her three-pointer was on line with the basket, but had too much power behind it and barely grazed the back iron. Elenga secured the offensive rebound and inexplicably went right back up with it, even though the Devils had a timeout and ten seconds to work with.

All of a sudden, it appeared the Sun Devils were about to crumble in the clutch once again. Miami had the ball with ten seconds left, and there was no guarantee of a defensive rebound off a Miami miss, not with Mompremier looming in the paint.

That is what made Robbi Ryan’s steal the most clutch play of the season for Arizona State. With their backs to the wall, the Devils answered the call, and ASU survived a Emese Hof desperation attempt to tie the game that seemed to hang on the rim for an eternity before eventually falling into the arms of a jubilant Kianna Ibis.

Hello, Sweet 16.

Next Up

Arizona State advances to the regional semifinal for the first time in four years. They will face No. 1 Mississippi State Friday in Portland, Oregon.  

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