It was not the easiest victory at all for Arizona State. But in the Pac-12, any team can compete with anybody. Despite Colorado’s spirited effort, Arizona State pulled away in the fourth quarter, winning 66-49 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, advancing the Devils to the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals. This is the third time ASU has defeated Colorado this season.
“I thought we had great moments, but we definitely weren’t at our normal selves, as connected as we usually are,” head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “I’m really proud of our team for just staying with things and stepping up in the fourth quarter and putting a really resilient Colorado team away.”
Indeed, both teams got off to slow starts against one another. Colorado only shot 7-26 from the floor in the first half and the Devils followed suit, shooting 10-26. However the Buffaloes also committed eight turnovers, helping the Devils to a comfortable 29-17 lead at the half.
Colorado wouldn’t go quietly in the second half, coming out hot in the third quarter and catching ASU off guard. The Buffs went on a 7-0 run to begin the quarter and ASU missed its first six shots, prompting Turner Thorne to call a timeout. After the timeout, senior Alexis Robinson caught fire, making three straight three-pointers while scoring 12 points in the quarter, cutting the ASU lead to 43-40 after the third.
“They came out and kind of jumped on us at the start of the second half and that’s not what we wanted to do at all,” senior Courtney Ekmark said. “[We] just tried to get the momentum and shift it back in our way and keep the aggressiveness.
Despite taking their foot off the gas in the third, Ekmark and the Devils did not let Colorado’s momentum last much longer. Robinson would not hit another three for the rest of the game and the Devils’ solid defense on Colorado’s leading scorer Kennedy Leonard stayed strong, limiting her to six points for the game.
Ekmark buried two of her six three pointers in the fourth and back-to-back and-one’s by Kiara Russell and Sophia Elenga stretched the lead back to double-digits. ASU outscored Colorado 23-9 in the fourth en-route to a 17 point victory.
“I thought we did get some great minutes– Kiki Russell stepped up, and Sophia [Elenga]. We did get some good bench scoring,” Turner Thorne said.
This swing all happened without leading scorer Kianna Ibis as much of a factor. She scored only six points the entire game and didn’t play after injuring her knee in the fourth quarter during a loose-ball scrum. Luckily for the Devils, Ibis was fine and she could receive some rest as Ekmark and Ryan both carried the scoring load with 18 and 13 points for the game, respectively.
“[Kianna] passed out of a number of traps today, and we never really anticipated having to lean on Kianna the way we have because we have so many great scorers and other players on our team that are capable of posting and knocking down shots,” Turner Thorne said. “This is good, actually. If I had to script it, it’s like, thank you. Go, go, other people, take your turns, take your shots, because obviously to be an elite team in March and advance, you’ve got to have five scorers on the floor.”
Even though the Buffaloes are the last placed team in the conference, their valiant effort in all three games against ASU is evidence, according to Turner Thorne, regarding how tough the Pac-12 is from top to bottom.
“There’s not an easy game in this conference.” Turner Thorne said. “The Pac-12 is the best women’s basketball conference in the country, and I will have a discussion with anybody in the country who wants to debate that.”
The weak defensive performance in the third quarter by ASU is also another wake up call that the team has to play with full effort throughout.
“It was a great teachable moment and reminder to us, like listen, at this point, you’ve got to be 40 minutes all-out with your effort and your focus and your connectedness,” Turner Thorne said. “They know it. It’s not the first tough third quarter that we’ve had.”
ASU will play in the quarterfinals against the No. 4 UCLA Bruins Friday at MGM Grand Garden Arena. Tip-off is slated for 11:30 a.m. Pacific time.
