(Photo: Brooke Faber/WCSN)
The No. 8 Arizona State Sun Devils traveled to Eugene on Friday to take on the Oregon Ducks, their first of two stops on their Oregon road trip this weekend.
The Sun Devils were looking to remain undefeated in conference play and extend their winning streak to 15, but the Ducks didn’t go down without a fight, taking the game down to the wire in a 63-58 Sun Devil victory.
The Sun Devils (18-3, 9-0 Pac-12) didn’t look like themselves early on, allowing Oregon (14-6, 3-6 Pac-12) to control the boards and the tempo throughout the first half.
The Ducks came out on fire shooting 58 percent from the field, and guard Lexi Peterson had six of her teams 16 points in the first quarter, but Kelsey Moos kept the Sun Devils within striking distance with six first half points to match Peterson.
Freshman forward Kianna Ibis came off the bench in the second quarter for the Sun Devils and gave them a kick-start, scoring a quick four points, but it was short lived as the Sun Devils never led in the second quarter.
Senior forward Jillian Alleyne racked up 13 of her 21 rebounds in the first half, and guard Lexi Bando hit a trio of three pointers to propel Oregon to a commanding 27-20 lead at the halftime break.
With some time to collect themselves, the Sun Devils came out red hot.
To start the Third quarter, ASU dialed up the defensive pressure and went on a 15-0 run, not allowing the Ducks to score their first points of the half until 3:39 remaining in the third. Arizona State contained the Ducks to six points total in the third quarter.
The fourth quarter was a historical one for Oregon’s Jillian Alleyne. She reached her 86th double-double, the most in Pac-12 history and third most in NCAA history, passing legendary Stanford center Chiney Ogwumike.
Unfortunately for Alleyne, even her stellar outing of 19 points and 21 rebounds could not help Oregon upset ASU. The Ducks had a late surge to make the game interesting, but ultimately that Sun Devils were able to close out Oregon.
The win moves ASU to 19-3 and 8-0 in conference play on the season and ties the program record for longest winning streak at 15.
Player of the Game: Kelsey Moos
Kelsey Moos’ extraordinary play is what kept the Sun Devils in the game. Early in the third quarter she boosted ASU’s energy by scoring seven straight points. She hit a career high three three-pointers en route to scoring a team-high 17 points, and greatly helped ASU move past the Ducks and Alleyne. Moos’ 17 points were two shy of her career high.
Key Stat: 20-bench points
With Quinn Dornstauder, Sophie Brunner and Katie Hempen having off nights on the offensive end combining for a total of 16 points, the bench picked up the slack. The ASU bench outscored Oregon’s bench 20-0, led by freshman guard Sabrina Haines’ 10 points. On a night where the starters weren’t up to their usual performance offensively, the bench came up huge for the Sun Devils.
What’s Next:
The Sun Devils will continue Corvallis on Monday at 9pm to take on No.9 Oregon State in a battle of the Pac-12’s top two teams.
