ASU Women’s Basketball: Sun Devils defeat Arizona in first round of Pac-12 Tournament

(Photo: Tyler Rittenhouse/WCSN)

SEATTLE — Entering the Women’s Pac-12 Tournament, the Arizona State Women’s Basketball team led the conference in scoring defense at 57.1 points per game.

The Sun Devils took the dominant defense to a new level against in-state rival Arizona as they held the Wildcats to two points in the first quarter in route to a 76-47 victory in the first round of the Pac-12 Women’s Basketball tournament.

“We were very locked in to know that we really need to be ready for this game and besides a four or five-minute stretch in the second quarter I thought it was a great team win,” ASU head coach Charli Turner Thorne said. “I loved our energy, loved our effort, balanced scoring, really locked in defensively.”

A combination of defense and a career night from guard Kiara Russell, who tied her career high in both points and assists with nine apiece, led Arizona State to a victory over in-state rival Arizona.

The sophomore came off the bench and was effective from the beginning as she was able to feed the ball down low while getting to the basket herself.

“They went to a smaller lineup, so I just fed into the post and got us into offense,” Russell said.

It was all ASU from the beginning as junior forward Kianna Ibis began the game with four straight points. The Sun Devils would then dominate on the defensive side of the ball through high ball pressure while clogging up the passing lanes.

The defensive pressure forced six of Arizona’s nine turnovers in the quarter in the first five minutes as ASU led 8-0 at the halfway point of the quarter. Coming out of the break it was more of the same as redshirt junior Courtney Ekmark hit a three and was followed by a layup from Russell.

“We knew we had to jump on them first,” Ibis said. “We always emphasize being the more aggressive team.”

It took the Wildcats six minutes and 18 seconds to break the scoring drought as they converted for their first and only points of the quarter. The lack of scoring from Arizona lead to a 15-point deficit at the end of one 17-2.

The Wildcats were able to turn it around in the second quarter behind errorless basketball as they finished the quarter with no turnovers. Arizona was able to cut the lead to 34-20 at the half and finished the half shooting 36% while the Sun Devils shot 52%.

ASU solidified their lead with a 10-0 run to begin the third period of play including six from guard Robbi Ryan. The Devils coasted the rest of the way behind a collective bench effort that outscored the Wildcats bench 30-5.

Some of the key contributors off the bench included forward Sophia Elenga who finished with 11 points and Jamie Ruden who finished with six.

The maroon and gold also benefited from dominance in the paint as they outscored Arizona 48-22 inside the key.

ASU will now move on to the quarterfinals against Oregon State in the Pac-12 tournament as they will play Friday, March 2nd at 8:30 PST at KeyArena in Seattle.

With the win, ASU will now move on to the quarterfinals and face a familiar face in Oregon State who was the last team the Sun Devils played in the regular season. ASU lost the last matchup against the Beavers 60-64 with forward Marie Gulich dropping 36 points in the OSU victory.

Despite last games result, the Sun Devils are optimistic about their chances against the No. three seed in the tournament.

“Gulich is a great player,” Turner Thorne said. “I don’t know if she’s up for an All-American, but to me, she’s that level. You’ve just got to try to contain her a little bit better, which that will be our job tomorrow night.”

The game is set for tip-off on March. 2nd at 8:30 PST from KeyArena in Seattle.