(Photo:Brooke Farber/WCSN)
Cal only had one more rebound than Arizona State on the night, and it was that one rebound that made the difference.
It looked like Arizona State was going to pull of their second straight comeback in three days, but a buzzer beater put-back by Cal’s Penina Davidson gave ASU their third loss of the season by a score of 50-49.
A three point shot by Katie Hempen with 13.9 seconds left gave ASU their first lead of the night but Cal was able to move down the court and get that last shot off.
The Sun Devils brought the game within six points in the middle of the second half and within the last two minutes Cal’s lead never exceeded four points.
The Golden Bears finished off the win without their two all-Pac-12 seniors as Brittnay Boyd went out with what looked like a concussion following a collision with Hempen, and Reshanda Gray fouling out with just over a minute to go.
Arizona State’s shots just weren’t falling early on. ASU was shooting 21% from the field and only tallied 16 points in the first half. The Sun Devils found themselves 10 points down at the end of one, and that deficit reached 14 before ASU started hitting shots and coming back.
Cal was able to capitalize on ASU’s turnovers and missed shots, scoring eight points off of fast breaks and a total of 16 points off of turnovers. Mikayla Cowling, Cal’s leading scorer with 16 points went seven for 11 in the field, had four rebounds and got off the runner that set up Davidson’s game winner.
Player of the Game: Sophie Brunner
Despite being heavily outsized in the paint, Sophie Brunner made it work both offensively and defensively. Brunner fought for all 10 points in this matchup. She found ways to post up against girls who had three to four inches on her and keep ASU in this game. In order for ASU to win, they needed to be able to defend the paint against Cal’s bigs and Brunner almost made that possible. She had nine rebounds and seven steals and kept ASU in this game, collecting seemingly every loose ball down the stretch.
Stat of the Night: 15 Cookies
In a night where the only stat that matters was negative, Arizona State had an impressive 15 steals against a taller and bigger team. ASU had three key steals in their run towards the end, keeping the game within striking distance.
What’s Next:
The Sun Devils have a five day break before they head to Corvallis to take on the Oregon State Beavers Friday at 2 p.m in a battle to regain a tie for first in the Pac-12.
